BY YANEEK SMITH

’Skins pull away from the Rockets late to win, 61-51

PORT CLINTON — A very competitive game that Oak Harbor was leading midway through the third quarter quickly turned in Port Clinton’s favor as its defense took over and the Redskins defeated the Rockets, 61-51.

Trailing 27-24 at halftime, Port Clinton (3-3, 1-2 Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division) outscored Oak Harbor (4-6, 1-3) 19-13 in the third quarter to take a 43-40 lead. The ‘Skins pulled away late in the fourth quarter and held the Rockets to just 11 points in the final eight minutes.

“It was more our defense that led to our offense a little bit. Cam Gillum guarding T.J. Hallett made it a little more difficult. Hallett is a really good player,” said Port Clinton coach Ryan Hicks. “We responded really well to being down. We could’ve hung our heads — I think we were down seven points in the third. We showed good leadership in the third quarter. That’s the best 13-15 minute stretch that we’ve played all year.”

Adam Thorbahn led all scorers with 23 points, 14 of which came in the second half, and had a very efficient game.

“Everybody that plays us knows the challenge of guarding Adam. Most teams try to use a team effort to guard him more than a 1-on-1. He does a good job of picking his spots and being able to facilitate,” said Port Clinton coach Ryan Hicks. “He was really, really efficient tonight. He didn’t force anything. It was a good game for him.”

Tyler Webb scored 14 points and Josh Hurst scored 13, including 10 in the second half.

“I think Tyler Webb has been a really solid second scorer for us. He’s up around the 12-15 point range. We expect a lot of him, and we give him a lot of freedom. He was really good for us tonight,” said Hicks. “Josh had his best offensive game for us. I think he got eight points in the fourth quarter, those were some clutch points. There was great senior leadership from him. Just a lot of good stuff.

“Brayden Spencer knocked in a couple of 3s and played good defense. I think that kind of turned the tide in our direction.”

For Oak Harbor coach Eric Sweet, the effort was there, but the execution was lacking at times.

“It was another good game by my guys. They played very hard, we have some small details that need to be corrected,” said Sweet. “A couple of missed rebounds, missed our rotations a couple of times, and offensively, we took a couple of quick shots and had a couple of turnovers. Then you find yourself and you’re behind.

“I’m proud of the effort (but) it’s the small details — we do those things for a small stretch and that’s what gets us the lead, and then we don’t do (those things), and we fall behind. We’ve slipped a few times the last few games, and that’s what has gotten us behind on the scoreboard.

“I’m proud of the effort, but those things need to get corrected.”

T.J. Hallett scored 19 points to lead the Rockets, Keegan Durdel had 11 and Ethan Stokes finished with 10.

Port Clinton 46, Genoa 44

PORT CLINTON — Despite having a 15-point lead midway through the third quarter, Port Clinton had to hold on for dear life in its 46-44 win over Genoa.

Holding a 27-23 lead at halftime, the Redskins outscored the Comets (2-7) 13-7 in the third quarter to take a 40-30 lead into the fourth.

Genoa’s Jon Huston scored 21 points on seven 3-pointers. He made three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t quite enough.

“Genoa is really scrappy, they play really hard, they’re well-coached,” said Port Clinton coach Ryan Hicks. “They had a kid (Jon Huston) hit seven 3-pointers and he hit three in the fourth quarter.

“Our defense was able to come up big and hold the fort down a little bit and it helped us pull out a tight one.

Adam Thorbahn led Port Clinton with 18 points and Tyler Webb added 14.

Port Clinton girls fall to Perkins

PORT CLINTON — Port Clinton is finding out just how difficult it is to play without one of the area’s top players.

Da’Cariya Lanier was unable to play and Perkins took advantage, defeating the Redskins, 45-13.

The Pirates led 20-2 at halftime and 35-7 after three quarters. Cameron Kaufman scored 16 points to lead Perkins.

“I think the No. 1 thing is their size and athleticism. We had a couple of opportunities to score at the rim and they would alter the shots,” said Port Clinton coach Kevin Belden. “They’re a very good defensive team, they’re athletic and deep.

“It’s never fun to play those teams back-to-back. I was proud of the effort on both nights. When we get to full strength, this will help us. I thought Claudia Gillum did a great job.

“We rebounded the ball extremely well on both nights against pretty good-sized teams.”

Claudia Gillum had five points to lead Port Clinton

It was the second of a back-to-back that saw the ‘Skins (2-6, 1-4 Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division) lose to Margaretta, another fine team, the night before.

Margaretta 60, Port Clinton 24

CASTALIA — Margaretta showed why it’s one of the best teams in the area by jumping out to an early lead and defeating Port Clinton, 60-24.

The Polar Bears (7-3, 3-0 Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division) led 15-9 after one quarter and 26-14 at halftime.

“Margaretta is one of the top teams in the area, it’s one of the better teams they’ve had in a while,” said Port Clinton coach Kevin Belden. “Positions 1 through 5, they’re very good, and they’ve got 8-10 (players) deep. It was great to see Jaelle Keller back after an injury. It was her first game back after her injury last year.”

Kylie Leibacher led all scorers with 20 points and Jennifer Patrick finished with 12. As a team, Margaretta made nine 3-pointers.

Claudia Gillum lead the Redskins with nine points.

Oak Harbor falls to Fremont Ross

SANDUSKY — Oak Harbor lost another heartbreaker, falling to Fremont Ross, 68-62.

The Rockets trailed by just one point heading into the fourth quarter but the Little Giants (4-4) outscored the Rockets, 24-19, in the final eight minutes.

“We defended well and took good, quality shots, but we just kind of fell off and stopped doing the things that got us the lead,” said Oak Harbor coach Eric Sweet. “When the guys do what they’re able to do, we’re winning the games, and we’re in games. It’s something with a young team that we’ve got to work on.

“I’m proud of my kids, they’ve battled hard. They’ve got to keep doing the things that get us the lead.”

Ross’ Ayden Carter led all scorers with 22 points and Jaelyn Bulgar and Kaden Holmes scored 13 points apiece.

For the Rockets, Ethan Stokes had 19 points and T.J. Hallett and Keegan Durdel both scored 16 points.

Rocket girls fall despite Steinbrick’s 30-point effort

SANDUSKY — Playing in the inaugural Jingle Bell Jam, Oak Harbor faced Tuscarawas Central Catholic and came up short, 48-40.

Ryann Steinbrick, who is averaging 25.3 points per game, scored 30 points to lead all scorers, including 19 in the second half, but it wasn’t quite enough to beat the Saints.

Central Catholic, which is located in New Philadelphia, led 10-3 after one quarter and 17-13 at halftime. The Saints pushed the led to 38-29 after three quarters.

“We just got to give them credit for winning the game. They executed well and played hard. We had some kids that were under the weather a little bit, and that didn’t help us energy-wise,” said Oak Harbor coach Adam Steinbrick. “We just didn’t play with our normal energy. I don’t feel that we were at 100%.

“They made enough plays to get (the win). It was one of those games that I would’ve like to have had back.”

Reese Triplett had 24 points, including 18 in second half, to help pace Central Catholic.

The Rockets (6-3) have gotten great production all year from Ryann Steinbrick.

“We’re running a lot of things through her with different sets. The girls are doing a great job of trying to free her up with ball screens or non-ball screens. If we can get her out in space, she creates some matchup problems. Central Catholic face-guarded her from the get go, and sometimes even triple-teamed,” said Adam Steinbrick.

“She just keeps going at it and she keeps attacking, I’m proud of her with what she’s going through after the injury during her sophomore year. She’s back to where I thought she would be. Hopefully we stay healthy as a team.

“I’m happy with the play. We’re putting a lot of young kids in situations where we’re asking them to grow up in a hurry. Their attitudes are great. They work hard and give you what they can. We’re putting some in difficult situations. We have a lot of players that are playing varsity that would typically be playing JV.”

Lakers pull away from Chargers in 61-51 win

DANBURY TWP. — A gutsy effort in the fourth quarter helped Danbury break a tie game with a 10-0 run and the Lakers defeated Edison, 61-51, in non-conference action.

Blake Barker scored six points in the run, which elevated the Lakers (2-6) to a 58-48 lead, and they never looked back.

“I thought it was a 10-0 run that was stemmed by defense and some really good decision-making on the floor,” said Danbury coach Keith Diebler. “I thought we played really good defense and the players made great decisions and hit some good shots.

“We’ve won two out of three games, and I think what speaks volumes is we get scoring from a lot of people. Our first few games of the season, we lost some games because we didn’t shoot well from the foul line, I think it’s about getting over the hump and winning. We’ve been in games all year. Right now, I see a lot of maturity in the kids themselves.”

A key sequence came late in the third quarter with the Lakers trailing, 44-40. Bradley Murray and Daniel Webster each scored a basket and tied the game heading into the fourth quarter.

Barker finished with a game-high 17 points, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter, Murray had 13 points and Grayson Clark and Maverick Murray finished with nine points apiece.

Kayden Bourget scored 14 points to lead the Chargers (1-6) and Troy Rutherford finished with 12 points.

Edison led 19-16 after the first quarter and 34-32 at halftime.

“I feel we’re in a better spot team-wise than in the three years I’ve been here. We work hard in practice, and the kids are getting better in practice,” said Diebler. “We’ve got some seniors that want to come out of it winners. Bradley and I were talking — he would like to cut down some nets. January is where you start to push, and you’ve got to come to every practice in January ready and you want to be peaking in February. We haven’t played our best ball yet, but I think it’s coming.

“I’m excited for what the future holds.”

Laker girls dominate in win over Monroeville

MONROEVILLE — Danbury continued its winning ways by defeating Monroeville, 44-24, in non-conference action.

The Lakers, who are now 7-3, jumped out to a 10-4 lead after one quarter and held a 23-17 advantage at halftime.

They put the game away by outscoring the Eagles, 15-1, in the third quarter.

“Monroeville gave us everything in the first half,” said Danbury coach Dick Heller. “They were well prepared. In the second half, our defensive pressure got to them. We are really proud of how our ladies responded in the second half.”

Maria Maringer led all scorers with 14 points, Kamil Stephens had nine points and Kelly Uhinck scored eight points.

Garrison Yoder had 12 points to pace Monroeville.

Danbury 51, Aradia 6

ARCADIA — Danbury dominated in every facet of the game and held Arcadia to just six points in its 51-6 victory over the Redskins.

The Lakers led 11-2 after the first quarter and held Arcadia scoreless in the second to take a 28-2 lead at the half.

Danbury made 22-of-46 shots and the ‘Skins shot just 3-of-24.

“We had a great team effort,” said Danbury coach Dick Heller. “Everyone contributed to the win (and) we had 10 players that scored.”

Maria Maringer scored 12 points, including 10 in the first half, and Kayla Rodriguez finished with 11.