Indians take down Panthers

FORT RECOVERY - Hot shooting and solid defense carried Fort Recovery to its sixth win of the season and second in Midwest Athletic Conference boys basketball play with a 67-42 win over Parkway on Friday night at Fort Site Fieldhouse.

Either inside on drives or outside from the three-point line, the Indians were knocking down shots. An 8-0 run, thanks to threes by Chase Bruns and Brandon (Speedy) Schoen and a two-pointer by Darien Sheffer, put the Indians up 10-3 with 3 1/2 minutes gone in the game. Parkway struggled, turning the ball over seven times in the first quarter as Fort Recovery led 25-7 by the end.

"That was a focus of ours - to come out with the correct intensity and a focus that we need to do our job really well," Indians coach Chris Guggenbiller said. "I don't think we've been playing well mentally of late. If we start cleaning those things up like we did tonight, good things are going to happen."

"They got loose and hit some outside shots," Parkway coach Rick Hickman said. "They've got a good team."

The teams played fairly even in the second half with the Indians maintaining the 18-point margin at halftime. In the third quarter, the Indians went on a 11-2 run to push the lead up to 49-22, prompting a quick timeout by Hickman. Fort Recovery outscored the Panthers 20-6 in the third quarter to go in front 58-26.

After shooting over 50 percent from the floor in the first quarter, Fort Recovery cooled down just enough to bring the percentage under 50 percent for the half, making 15-of-32 from the floor with a solid 6-of-14 from the three-point line.

"I knew we were shooting well in the first half," Guggenbiller said. "I didn't realize we were 6-of-14 from the three-point line and that was spread around nicely.

"We were able to work it around and get some open looks down low because we did hit a couple big shots in the first half."

Parkway managed to bring the deficit back to below 30 in the final quarter as both coaches cleared their benches to offer some playing time to the reserves.

"We were 13-13 in the second quarter and won the fourth quarter," Hickman said. "But 25-7 in the first quarter. The first couple of minutes were pretty good, but they shot the ball well. Third quarter was about the same."

Fort Recovery received balanced scoring from its lineup. Three players reached double figures led by Sheffer's 17 points. Micaiah Cox added 13 points and nine rebounds and Bruns finished with 10. Eight of the 11 Indians to play scored at least two points.

Justin Barna led Parkway with 13 points, six points coming in the fourth quarter. Clayton Agler added 10 points.

Both teams return to action tonight. Fort Recovery travels to the Darke County village of Pitsburg to face Franklin-Monroe. Parkway is home for its Hall of Fame induction ceremony as the Perry Commodores travel to Rockford.