Bulldogs rally to beat Cardinals

NEW BREMEN - In a game that featured multiple runs and lead changes, Celina was able to get the last run and took the lead for good with 4 1/2 minutes left to play in beating New Bremen 70-62 on Saturday night at Cardinal Gymnasium.

The win moved the Bulldogs to 8-2 as the Cardinals dropped to 6-4.

In the first half, Celina rode the hot shooting of Eric Moeder, who made five three-pointers in the half.

"He shot the ball well for us," Celina coach Chris Bihn said of Moeder. "He was our leading three-point shooter last year. ... The thing I liked the best is how hard he played defensively."

New Bremen matched Celina nearly shot-for-shot as Parker Manger scored 11 points in the second quarter. The Cardinals whittled a six-point deficit midway through the quarter down to 30-29 at the half.

"The first quarter, we didn't have a lot of energy," New Bremen coach Adam Dougherty said. "We made a bunch of defensive errors. We fixed them and got the lead back."

The Cardinals' momentum carried into the third quarter as a Manger three-pointer gave them the lead at 32-30 just 45 seconds into the half. The teams either traded the lead or were tied a total of eight times in the first three minutes of the quarter. New Bremen took a 50-48 advantage heading into the final eight minutes of play.

Four straight Alex Britton free throws in the first minute of the final quarter extended the lead to 54-50 but Ryan Hoyng, who was held scoreless in the first half due to solid Cardinal defense by Manger and also forced to sit after picking up two quick fouls, caught fire, converting a three-point play to cut it to one at 54-53.

After Kaelen Reed pushed the lead back to three, Ryan Hoyng scored again to cut it to 56-55 before Moeder, who was scoreless in the third quarter, hit his sixth trey of the game to put Celina in front 58-56 with 4:35 to play. Caleb Hoyng, Ryan Hoyng and Grant Laffin followed with baskets to quickly make it 64-56 before Manger scored to snap the run. The Bulldogs hit 6-of-7 free throws in the final 1:16 to keep the Cardinals at bay.

"I thought our guys stepped up in the fourth quarter with a little more energy," Bihn said. "We got a few more rebounds and a few more loose balls. They did a nice job down the stretch to have the energy and made sure they played hard all the way through."

"They do a lot of things well," Dougherty said of Celina. "They put you in conflict offensively. ... We forced them into a lot of things and they made some tough plays."

Moeder led the Bulldogs with 22 points. Caleb Hoyng scored 19 points and pulled own 12 rebounds and Ryan Hoyng finished with 16.

Manger finished with a game-high 23 points. Britton score 13.

"Carson is going to get his (points)," Bihn said. "He's a nice player. We were just trying to contain him."

Both teams are back in conference action Friday. Celina hosts Defiance while New Bremen hosts Coldwater.