Saturday, January 14th, 2012

Balance keys Indians' victory over Cavaliers

By Tom Montgomery
Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard

Fort Recovery's Elijah Kahlig, left, and Alex Kaiser, right, trap Coldwater's Mark Brunet during Friday's Midwest Athletic Conference matchup at The Palace. Fort Recovery improved to 9-0 on the season following a 61-34 win over the Cavaliers.

COLDWATER - Looking every bit like one of the state's elite, the Fort Recovery Indians massacred the host Coldwater Cavaliers 61-34 on Friday night at The Palace.
Three-pointers helped Coldwater keep the score somewhat respectable until they suddenly stopped falling, and the Indians' uprising was complete.
"They're a good team, aren't they?" said Coldwater's coach Mike Bruns. "It's hard to beat a team when you shoot like they did. The firepower of their arsenal was awesome. They had balance inside and out. They hit from everywhere."
Fort Recovery hit 7-of-9 from three-point range and connected on 26-of-47 overall (55.3 percent). Wade Gelhaus (18 points), Elijah Kahlig (15 points), Jared Kahlig (13 points) and Jason Pottkotter (12 points) all hit for doubles figures.
After getting the opening tip and missing their first three shots, the Indians found their touch. Three-pointers by Elijah Kahlig and Wade Gelhaus, interspersed with field goals by Jared Kahlig and Jason Pottkotter, staked the visitors to a 10-0 lead from which they never looked back.
Coldwater's Brandon Wolters hit a three-pointer to make it 10-3 and five quick points by Alex Bruggeman brought the hosts to within six points at 14-8. Jared Kahlig managed to dribble out the remaining 34 seconds before going to the basket to hit a short jumper to put his team up 16-8 after one quarter of play.
The second quarter saw the visitors extend their lead to 22-10 before Coldwater's Austin Bruns hit the game's first free throw at the 3:41 mark. Bruns followed with a trey and a deuce to make it 29-18.
Gelhaus then stole the ball under the basket and went coast-to-coast before tomahawking a thundering two-handed dunk that brought fans of both teams to their feet as the Indians went on top 31-18. A three by Coldwater's Kyle Post was answered quickly by Fort Recovery's Kent Retz, and the teams went to the locker room with the hosts trailing 34-21.
After hitting 4-of-9 three-pointers in the first half, the Cavaliers went 0-for-9 from long range in the final two periods, eliminating any realistic chance of an upset.
The teams played almost even in the third period, with the Indians eking out two more points than the hosts to pad their lead. The fourth period was all Fort Recovery, as it outscored the hosts 15-3.
"We played pretty well," said Patch. "We have a big weekend coming up with the Flying to the Hoop event. It's a prestigious event and we were honored to be asked. But we concentrated on this game and it came out OK."
"They definitely deserved to win," said Cavaliers' coach Bruns. "They just beat you so many ways. They've got the firepower to go a long way."
Coldwater has the weekend off before hosting Versailles next Friday night. Fort Recovery travels to Kettering for the Flyin' to the Hoop event, where the Indians will face Division I state-ranked Walnut Ridge today at 1:15 p.m.
Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard

Fort Recovery's Jared Kahlig leans in for two of his 13 points against Coldwater.

Additional online story on this date
GRAND LAKE - The state is reassessing how it manages the water level in Grand Lake following a third flooding lawsuit won by area landowners.
Ohio [More]
Subscriber and paid stories on this date
Local hospital officials continue to utilize and expand electronic medical records systems to streamline services for their patients and comply with a federal initiative.
If at first you don't succeed ... re-submit your grant applications.
That's exactly what county officials plan to do after being rejected in October for grants sought to pave and repair the Celina-Coldwater bike path.
Three local residents were injured when a pickup truck and a skid loader collided Jan. 7 in the 800 block of Burkettsville-St. Henry Road near Fort Recovery.
Bulldogs lose fourth straight game and remain winless in league play
CELINA - A dismal first half buried Celina in a 20-point hole and a desperate second-half comeback fell short by a point as Wapakoneta escaped the Fieldhouse on Friday night with a 53-52 victory over the Bulldogs.
NEW KNOXVILLE - The defenses dominated this game and the New Bremen Cardinals cranked up their defensive effort an extra notch and the offense came u
MINSTER - A 15-0 run spanning parts of the second and third quarters allowed Minster to shake off Parkway for a 48-34 win in Midwest Athletic Conference boys' basketball action at Wildcat Gymnasium on Friday night.
Midwest Athletic Conference Roundup
Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
Versailles pulled away in the second half to beat Marion Local 61-46 in Midwest Athletic Conference action at Tiger Gymnasium in Darke County on Friday night.
Western Buckeye League Roundup
Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
Bath pulled away from St. Marys in the second half to stay a game back of the leaders in the Western Buckeye League following a 63-51 win over St. Marys on Friday.