Tigers turn back Panthers in overtime

HURON — Michael Holm's shot was off Saturday night, but the one he made was huge.Just seconds after a Myles Bruno 3-pointer gave St. Mary Central Catholic a 60-58 overtime lead, the Huron senior answered with a trey that put the Tigers up for good in a 69-67 Sandusky Bay Conference crossover game at Huron High School."We knew he's too good of a shooter to miss many," Huron coach Bobby James said of Holm. "We knew if he could find some space, he'd knock it down. Coach (Shayne) Fischer told him he was going to knock down a three and it would be a big one. He sure hit one that swung the momentum."Once they got the lead, the Tigers were able to hold off the Panthers by converting 6-of-8 free throws over the final two minutes."It was a high-level high school basketball game," said SMCC coach Chris Ceccoli. "I thought both teams were evenly matched and they competed very well. It was a chess match back and forth. I credit Bobby and his staff for putting their players in a position to be successful."Our kids fought to the very end. We had our chances down the stretch, but I'm very proud of the effort. If we play with that type of effort the rest of the way, I like our chances."St. Mary CC came out on fire from the start, taking a 23-15 lead after one period and pushing the margin to 29-20 with 5:23 left in the first half. However, Nate Roesch and Dylan Christian were sitting on the bench with two fouls and the Tigers responded by reeling off nine straight points to knot the score at 29-29 at the intermission."We wanted to turn the pressure up a little, speed things up and turn things to our liking," said Huron senior Drew Wennes. "Once we picked up the pressure and we got it where we wanted it, we started getting some turnovers, which is the way we like to play."The teams battled for the lead throughout the second half with the Tigers taking their first lead with 5:08 in the third quarter, and the Panthers building a 45-38 advantage in the first two minutes of the fourth. Huron was able to knot the score at 56-56 with 39 seconds remaining, but SMCC had the ball for the final shot and couldn't get it off, sending the game into overtime.The Tigers struck first in the extra session, but it was Bruno's trey with 2:32 remaining that got the "You can't stop him" chant started among Panthers fans.Holm answered 21 seconds later, giving Huron the lead for good."I really though it was going to be a battle tonight, but if we played well, we'd have it. But it was a situation that showed what we're capable of this season," said Huron senior Nic Ritzler. "I know Mike was frustrated because he wasn't hitting all game, but that was a big shot for us."Wennes, limited to five points in the first half, finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds, while Ritzler chipped in 21 points and six boards. Matthew Hurst added nine points by going 7-of-8 from the free throw line."It was a fun game," James said. "St. Mary is good. They got the momentum early and I don't think we got it back until two minutes into overtime."Bruno finished with a game-high 26 points while Christian added 14 and eight rebounds. Roesch, saddled with foul trouble throughout the game, scored just seven points."Bottom line, we put ourselves in a position to have some success," Ceccoli said. "The kids bought into the game plan. We got together in the afternoon and talked through some things and, to the kids' credit, they went out an executed it."ST. MARY CCCole Kromer 1 3-4 5, Jaden Bell 1 0-0 2, Dylan Christian 5 3-6 14, Myles Bruno 9 4-6 26, Nate Roesch 3 1-2 7, Gus Roth 2 0-0 6, Luke Cool 1 0-0 2, Vinny Will 1 0-1 2. TOTALSA 23 11-19 66HURONMatthew Hurst 1 7-8 9, Jimmy Harkelroad 2 0-0 4, Michael Holm 1 0-2 3, Drew Wennes 8 7-9 24, Nic Ritzler 8 6-7 21, Cole Parker 1 0-0 3, Joey Brown 0 2-2 2. TOTALS 21 22-28 69St. Mary CC 23 6 12 15 10 — 66Huron 15 14 9 18 13 — 693-point FGs: St. Mary CC 6 (Christian 1, Bruno 2, Roth 2); Huron 6 (Holm 1, Wennes 1, Ritzler 3, Parker 1). JV: Huron, 64-36Huron coach Bobby James, center, instructs his team during a timeout during Saturday night's game against St. Mary Central Catholic. The Tigers defeated the Panthers, 69-66, in overtime.