Flyers survive Cardinals' rally

WAPAKONETA - Survive and advance.

That's all that matters in tournament basketball.

And despite losing the momentum in the second half and shooting 53.6 percent from the free throw line, the Marion Local Flyers survived to play another day with a 54-51 win in the Division IV Wapakoneta district semifinal on Tuesday against a New Bremen Cardinal who fought to the finish.

"There's no question, it's survive and advance this time of year," Marion Local coach Kurt Goettemoeller said. "This was similar to the first game (a 67-58 road win) in that we got into a double-digit lead in the first half and then you just know that they're going to come at you because they play so hard. It was just a matter of survival."

The top-seeded Flyers advance to play second-seeded Spencerville in the district final at 7 p.m. Friday in Wapak. The Bearcats were a 63-58 winner over Perry in the nightcap.

The Cardinals were down but never out, not even after a 12-0 first-quarter run by the Flyers or an 11-point deficit with three minutes left in the game. New Bremen kept coming and had a shot for the tie at the end of regulation.

The Cardinals battled back from double-digit deficits three times, including a 13-5 scoring run to close the third quarter which made the score 36-31 entering the fourth. The momentum was wavering in New Bremen's favor when the Flyers finally got what they needed - key defensive stops and big shots.

After Luke Knapke's block on a Carson Manger shot attempt, Dustin Rethman, who had struggled shooting all game, knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner to put the Flyers back up eight points. Knapke had another impressive swat on the next Cardinal possession and Cole Griesdorn buried another 3-ball from the opposite corner, giving Marion a 46-35 lead with three minutes left.

"We hit two big threes to gap them," Marion Local coach Kurt Goettemoeller said. "We were up only five. We had two threes from Cole and Doc (Rethman) that got us to 11 and then Carson just took over. It's not like our defense let up. He just hit tough after tough shot."

Manger scored all 21 of his points in the second half and ignited a 12-3 Cardinal run following Marion's taking the 11-point lead. The senior hit three free throws and then a three-pointer to make the score 49-47. After a 1-of-2 sequence for Bruns at the charity stripe, Manger missed a game-tying three-point attempt but stole the ball away from Collin Mescher on the rebound and was fouled. Manger hit both free throw attempts and the lead was down to one.

"We're taught to not look at the scoreboard until there's two minutes to go and then we'll figure it out," New Bremen coach Adam Dougherty said. "There was three to go so we were okay. We kept believing that we were going to get stops and make enough shots to get it done. We were right there."

Knapke and Bruns each followed with a pair of free throws. Manger went coast-to-coast for a layup with six seconds to go. Knapke was fouled and sunk only 1-of-2 at the line to give the Flyers a 54-51 lead with three seconds left. New Bremen's half-court heave at the buzzer sailed right and Marion Local landed back in the district final for the second year in a row.

"Because we were poor from the line, we needed to get stops defensively in the second half. We were getting stops and then we just weren't converting at the free throw line on the other end. You know, they had a tough game in the tournament already and we haven't. I think it was a little bit of tournament nerves. I told our guys 'Hopefully this will kick start us.' Now you know what it's like to play in this kind of environment with the game on the line."

"Give them a lot of credit. They're a really nice team," Dougherty said. "Kurt does an outstanding job."

New Bremen found itself in a 14-3 hole after the first quarter, following a 1-of-10 shooting effort. Bruns had his way down low for the Flyers, scoring six points in the first 4 1/2 minutes and ending the half with 10 points and six boards.

The Cardinals came back to make it a seven-point game by halftime at 25-18, thanks to the play of Trey Naylor (six points in the quarter) and Ben Schwieterman, who banked a three just before the break.

The Flyers started the second half on a 6-0 run, with Dustin Seitz's three-point play putting them back in front by double figures. Then Manger came to life, scoring his first points of the game on a two-handed dunk over the 6-7 Bruns while being fouled. Manger followed with a three-pointer as New Bremen embarked on its 13-5 run to close the quarter before coming up short in the fourth.

"These kids compete. It didn't end the way we wanted it. We lost to a very good team, a team that's got a chance to win it all," Dougherty said. "Two minutes to start the game, two minutes to start the third, they played better than us in those stretches and we dug too deep of hole. Still, we gave ourselves a chance."

Bruns, who battled foul trouble in the final half, led the Flyers in scoring with 21 and added eight rebounds. Knapke contributed 10 points and 11 boards.

Greg Parker scored half of his 10 points in the third quarter. Naylor added eight points and eight rebounds. The Cardinals' season wraps up with a record of 14-11.   

"You watch us play tonight and I can't be any prouder of our kids. Our kids are a bunch of winners. They just compete," Dougherty said. "At one point, we're going to get this done. These guys are the foundation of it and I hope they realize they have as much to do with what goes on after this as anybody."