Second-quarter run lifts SMCC past New Riegel

SANDUSKY — It took just more than a quarter and a half for St. Mary Central Catholic to get into a rhythm Thursday night, but once the Panthers settled in they took a lead they would not surrender in a 51-46 Sandusky Bay Conference River Division win over visiting New Riegel.SMCC found itself trailing 19-13 with 5:43 to play in the first half, but a 16-4 second quarter-ending run turned that into a 29-23 cushion, and the Panthers led the rest of the way.Fourteen of those points came in the final 2:59 of the quarter as shots were dropping, turnovers were coming their way, and the rebounds were falling into Panther hands, mainly those of 6-foot-3 senior Nate Roesch.The half-ending run was key to the momentum swing that kept SMCC (3-2, 2-1) in control and able to keep the Blue Jackets (0-6, 0-3) from mounting a comeback."I called timeout just to try to settle them down a little bit, and we were able to get some open looks on the perimeter," SMCC coach Chris Ceccoli said. "Also to create some turnovers and get some in transition."To New Riegel's credit, they just did not quit. They continued to compete, and continued to battle."The Panthers defense held New Riegel to a 15-for-45 shooting night, forcing the Jackets to work for everything they got. The only thing that kept them within striking distance was a 13-of-16 showing at the free-throw line."I am extremely pleased with the way we defended tonight, from start to finish," Ceccoli added. "The kids really got after it. I have to say too, shoutout to the assistant coaches (Tom Link, Weston Strayer and Kyle Rospert). I had to step away a little bit this week, and it was on them to prepare our kids to play (Wednesday) in practice, and they did a tremendous job."I thought that was as sound defensively as we've been all season long, and that was good to see."Roesch, the River's reigning Most Outstanding Performer, finished with 13 points and 18 boards, with 11 of those rebounds by halftime."We knew going into this game every point was going to be earned," Ceccoli said. "They're very physical and very good defensively. We needed to control the boards, and one thing I thought, Nate did a great job on the glass."It's a credit to him and the energy he brings to every rebound. He has that mentality that every shot that comes off the rim, it's his rebound to take. He works really hard for every one of them."Gus Roth paced the Panthers attack with 15 points, while Myles Bruno added 10, which followed a 26-point effort in an overtime loss to Huron last week.Nick Reinhart was the lone Blue Jacket in double figures with a game-high 19 points, many on baseline drives with a spin around his defender in the lane. Seventeen of those points came in the second half, including 11 in the final period."They did a good job of forcing some timely turnovers against us," said Jackets coach Dave Losey. "Every time we'd get back within striking distance there'd be a bad turnover. At the end of the (second quarter) they had that run, and Roesch was just unbelievable. He's a strong kid and did a great job on the glass."Brandon Gillig got into a little bit of foul trouble there and had to sit that whole time, so we were playing with a little bit of a short bench. And they made a play or two. I thought we did a good job after that of calming ourselves down, but that was a big run. That put us in a hole the rest of the night."The game started a stretch of four straight away games for New Riegel, which started the season with five straight home games. They play next Friday at Danbury, while the Panthers are back in action at Old Fort on Saturday, taking on the team with which they shared last season's conference title."I told the kids in the locker room that was game number three, and we still have 13 to go with so many teams in the league," Ceccoli said. "It's a long way to go, so we just have to stay focused one game at a time."NEW RIEGEL (0-6, 0-3)Joe Tiell 0 2-2 2; Hayden Hohman 1 2-2 4; Christopher Acree 2 3-6 8; Logan Schalk 1 0-0 2; Brandon Gillig 3 0-0 6; Jacob Theis 2 0-0 5; Nick Reinhart 6 6-6 19. TOTALS: 15 13-16 46ST. MARY CC (3-2, 2-1)Cole Kromer 0 2-2 2; Dylan Christian 3 0-0 6; Gus Roth 5 2-2 15; Myles Bruno 5 0-0 10; Anderson Gennari 1 0-0 2; Vinny Will 1 0-0 3; Nate Roesch 6 1-3 13. TOTALS: 21 5-7 51New Riegel 12 11 10 13 — 46St. Mary CC 11 18 13 9 — 513-pointers - New Riegel (Acree, Theis, Reinhart) ; St. Mary (Roth 3, Will). JV — SMCC, 52-35.St. Mary Central Catholic's Nathan Roesch drives in for an easy layup during a Division IV sectional game last season vs. Buckeye Central at Galion High School.