SPENCERVILLE-The Spencerville Bearcats came back home on Friday night to take on the Lima Central Catholic Thunderbirds. The Bearcats extended their win streak as Smith’s free throws down the stretch gave the hosts a 56-49 victory.
“To be honest, we didn’t have a normal week of practice as I have been under the weather this week,” said Spencerville head coach Kevin Sensabaugh. “Our guys showed up tonight like they always do and we defended them really well.”
Spencerville came right out of the gates with a 9-0 scoring run. Smith started with a bucket and a band-aid to give them the 3-0 lead. The Thunderbirds came back with a run of their own, and a basket by Billy Burk cut the deficit to two at 11-9. Spencerville stretched their lead out late in the quarter with a pair of three pointers, including one from Josh Henline, to beat the buzzer to lead 20-13.
The biggest lead the Bearcats had was at 29-13, after Tyler Koenig connected on a three pointer that forced an LCC timeout. The Thunderbirds responded with a 10-2 scoring run to end the first half trailing 31-23.
Lima Center Catholic got within four points at 33-29 early in the quarter, as back-to-back three pointers got the visitors within striking distance. Spencerville extended the lead back to 38-29 after a basket from Koenig and three foul shots from Henline. The lead was extended to double digits after a three pointer from Cook gave them a 42-31 advantage. The Bearcats advantage extended to a dozen at 46-34 after the third quarter.
“Tyler started the game on fire tonight, and I have not seen him do that the last couple of games,” Sensabaugh said. “Our seniors continue to lead us in the right way.”
Spencerville was able to put the game away in the final quarter, even without making a shot from the floor. The visitors were able to put pressure on the hosts, as a pair of three pointers got them within six 46-40. Dylan Smith helped put the game out of reach as he connected on seven of his eight free throws down the stretch, including his last pair, to give them a 53-47 lead. A pair of free throws from Henline and a free throw from Koenig gave the hosts a 56-49 victory.
Spencerville remains unbeaten at home and will be back in action on Saturday when they visit the Arlington Red Devils.
LCC 13 10 11 15 49
Spencerville 20 11 15 10 56
LCC 49
Billy Burk 11 Seth Mikesell 9 Evan Unruh 8 Meshaud Moore 8 Carson Parker 5 Ethan Frankshouser 4 Justin Bauman 2 Traves Hoyle Jr. 2
Spencerville 56
Dylan Smith 16 Tyler Koenig 15 Josh Henline 14 Dylan Cook 5 Eli Harter 4 Evan Osting 2
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