MINSTER-Fresh off a tough loss last Saturday against Kalida, the Spencerville Bearcats looked to get back in the win column when they visited the Minster Wildcats on Thursday night. The Bearcats used a hot shooting second quarter from Owen Sensabaugh to pull away for the 72-38 victory.
“I think they were not real pleased with how they played on Saturday night,” said Spencerville head coach Kevin Sensabaugh. “I think our guys were chomping at the bit to play and I thought we played with good energy and intensity.”
The Bearcats got on the board quickly in the opening quarter following a Minster basket with an 8-0 scoring run that featured four points each from Josh Henline and Dylan that forced a Wildcat timeout. Another Smith layup made it 10-2 before a three pointer by Dillion Watecutter ended the Bearcat run.
A basket by Carter Sudhoff and a pair of free throws from Henline stretched the lead to 14-5 before a last second three pointer by Kole Richard trimmed the lead to 14-8.
Spencerville continued to have offensive success in the second quarter but the mainstay of the offense in the quarter was Sensabaugh. Sensabaugh connected on a pair of three pointers that sparked a 12-0 scoring run to make it 26-8 and a quick timeout that was taken by the hosts.
Sensabaugh knocked down his third triple of the quarter that also included three points from Blake Sommers as the visitors enjoyed a 36-14 halftime lead.
“Carder Orr, Carter Sudhoff, and Dylan Cook are all unselfish as they are not looking to score and they are looking to get other people to score,” explained freshman Sensabaugh. “They are always setting good screens for me and I wouldn’t have as much success without them.”
Both teams played almost even in the third quarter but the Bearcats were able to extend the lead in the quarter. Cole Albers and Richard tried to lead the comeback attempt in the quarter but the balanced scoring from Spencerville kept them from coming within single digits.
Four points from Smith and an old-fashioned three point play from Henline allowed them to almost double their lead as Bearcats led 52-27.
Sensabaugh wasn’t ready to end his night in the final quarter as he buried two more three pointers as part of a career high 20 points as the lead was getting close to a running clock. The final three minutes featured the running clock as Spencerville emptied their bench in the final minutes.
Spencerville improves to 7-1 on the season and will visit St.Marys on Tuesday.
“It’s going to be incredibly difficult,” concluded elder Sensabaugh on facing the Roughriders. “He (Austin Parks) is a load but it’s not just him, the Turner kid is really good and the Angstman is really good and they got some guards that can shoot it.”
Spencerville 14 – 22 – 16 – 20 – 72
Minster 8 – 6 – 13 – 11 – 38
Spencerville (72)
Owen Sensabaugh (20) Dylan Smith (16) Josh Henline (12) Blake Sommers (9) Carter Sudhoff (6) Michael Woods (4) Carder Orr (3) Dylan Cook (2)
Minster (38)
Kole Richard (11) Cole Albers (8) Dillion Watecutter (4) Cole McClurg (4) Logan Kohne (2) Kaleb Sharp (2) Evan Prenger (2) Ian Homan (1) James Niemeyer (1)
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