Redskins win a close one at Huron

HURON -- Port Clinton has lost a lot of basketball games like the one the Redskins found themselves in Friday night. Close games. This one was different. The Redskins trailed by nine points in the first quarter but fought back in the second half for a 45-42 Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division victory over Huron. PC, which has lost by 6, 5, 5, 5, 5 and 4 points this season, earned this victory by making eight of its last 10 free throws. Huron, which trailed by nine early in the fourth quarter, battled back and had a chance to tie the game, but Dylan Hohler's last-second 3-point attempt from the right wing missed. Hohler scored 11 of his 13 points in the final quarter to help get the Tigers close. PC's Tyler Webb made two free throws with 25 seconds to play -- using the glass on the second -- to give the Redskins a 44-40 lead. Hohler cut the PC lead to 44-42 with 19 seconds on the clock. PC's Elliot Auxter made one of two tries from the line four seconds later to account for the final margin. "I think past Port Clinton teams might've wilted -- and we wilted a little," PC coach Ryan Hicks said. "I really give Elliot Auxter and Tyler Webb credit for handling the pressure and not turning it over." PC improved to 5-9, 2-5 in the Bay (and 1-6 in games decided by six points or fewer). "We wanted this game bad," said Hicks, whose team lost 55-49 to Huron earlier this season. Sophomore Adam Thorbahn led the Redskins with 21 points. He scored 15 of his team's 18 points n the first half to keep the Redskins close. "Adam was just the best player on the floor all night," Hicks said. "We give him a lot of freedom and run a lot of stuff for him." Thorbahn stole an inbounds pass and drove to the basket for a layin that gave the Redskins their first lead at 27-25 with 2:45 left in the third quarter. Webb drove the left baseline to give PC a 34-28 lead with five seconds left in the period. The Redskins made only one field goal in the fourth quarter, but it was a big one. It came with 6:45 to play when Tommy Owens came out of scrum near the basket with the ball and converted from close range. That gave PC a 36-28 lead. They withstood Huron's pressure defense and Hohler's explosive quarter to break a four-game losing streak. Owens, Auxter and Brayden Spencer each finished with six points for the Redskins. Huron played its first game after coming off a two-week quarantine on Monday. The Tigers were just nine of 20 from the free-throw line. Jacob Lamb finished with 11 points for Huron and Hohler added eight rebounds. ----- PORT CLINTON (5-9, 2-5) Elliot Auxter 2 2-4 6, Josh Hurst 1 0-0 2, Tyler Webb 1 2-2 4, Tommy Owens 1 4-4 6, Adam Thorbahn 9 3-7 21, Brayden Spencer 2 0-0 6. TOTALS 16 11-18 45 HURON (4-4, 2-3) Jacob Lamb 4 3-10 11, Marc Hurst 1 1-2 3, Dylan Hohler 5 2-4 13, Cole Parker 3 0-0 6, Tait Fischer 2 1-2 5, Luke Lagando 0 2-2 2, Luke Rager 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 16 9-20 42 Port Clinton 9 9 16 11 -- 45Huron 12 9 7 14 -- 42 Three-point goals -- PC 2 (Spencer 2); Huron 1 (Hohler 1)