SMCC completes sweep of first-place Gibsonburg

SANDUSKY — St. Mary Central Catholic completed a season sweep against the team that likely will win the Sandusky Bay Conference River Division boys basketball title outright. The Panthers built a big lead Tuesday and defeated Gibsonburg 64-55 at the Kinzel Center to snap the Golden Bears' 17-game winning streak. Gibsonburg's last loss? SMCC beat the Bears in mid-December. "I'm proud of our kids, especially coming back from that loss to Calvert (Saturday)," SMCC coach Kyle Hammond said. "It speaks to what kind of kids they are. There was no fear of what could happen. They played loose and confident. They did a great job of attacking them and being pretty efficient against a really good team." Gibsonburg, at 18-3 overall and 12-2 in the River, has clinched at least a tie for first in the division and likely will clinch the River title Friday at Fremont St. Joseph, which has just one win this season. The Panthers improved to 17-4 overall and 11-3 in the River. SMCC trailed for only the first 1 1/2 minutes before an active defense flustered Gibsonburg and helped the Panthers build a 30-14 halftime lead. The Panthers forced eight turnovers in the second quarter. SMCC stayed fresh by using 11 players in the first quarter. "Start to finish they dictated the tempo," Gibsonburg coach Tony Egbert said. "We knew they were gonna get up and guard us. Coach Hammond does a great job with those guys defensively, keeping guys fresh, keeping a new guy guarding the ball every time. "It wore us down. That's kind of what they did to us the first time, too." SMCC played with great energy after a loss at Calvert dropped them two games behind the Bears in the loss column. The Panthers didn't pout about it. "That tough loss to Calvert knocked us out of league contention, so the game didn't really mean much, but it still meant something to us," junior guard Cayden Wikel said. "Gibsonburg's a great team and it was great to sweep them. We came out ready." Wikel scored 12 of his 18 points in a long fourth quarter that included 13 fouls called on Gibsonburg and 20 free throw attempts by SMCC. Gibsonburg scored 30 points in the final period, but the Panthers (who scored 23) were not in serious jeopardy after building a 21-point lead midway through the fourth. Wikel scored 11 straight SMCC points over a five-minute span that bridged the third and fourth quarters. Junior guard Leo Will did most of his damage in the first half, scoring 10 of his 18 points. "They both played very well," Hammond said. "They usually make us go when they play well offensively. And I thought Blake Finneran and all our guards did a great job handling their pressure. He made some great plays for us." SMCC used a 10-0 run to build an early 21-7 lead on a Wikel midrange jumper. A Wikel 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter gave SMCC a 44-25 lead and he extended it to 21 points (52-31) with two free throws with 4:33 to play. "I was feeling it a little bit," Wikel said. "I was trying to get going the whole game and it was nice to get going in the fourth quarter." Gibsonburg's Reece Walby scored 10 of his game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter to make things respectable for Gibsonburg, but SMCC's big first half was too much for the Bears to overcome. "We took good shots and defensively we were really locked in," Hammond said. "To hold a really good team like that to 14 in the first half shows what a great job we did defensively." One of SMCC's top defenders was 6-foot-4 junior Jackson Grimm. He didn't score, but Grimm was a factor with seven rebounds and three blocked shots while backing up starting big man Gabe Burch, who was in early foul trouble. "He's great," Wikel said. "He can jump out of the gym — rebounds, blocks. He does all the dirty work for us. He's great to have." Added Hammond: "Jackson's kind of an unsung hero on our team. His length makes our defense that much more difficult when you gotta finish against him." SMCC finishes the regular season Friday at home against Woodmore on Senior Night before hosting Toledo Horizon Science Academy in a Division VII tournament opener next Thursday. "We talked about how the last couple games have been great environments for our team," Hammond said. "We've played well the last couple weeks. We just want to keep it rolling." GIBSONBURG (18-3, 12-2) Aiden Morant 2 1-2 5, Reece Walby 6 9-9 21, Luke Foster 1 0-0 2, Chuy Rodriguez 0 0-0 0, Hunter Wasserman 5 3-5 13, Xander Zimmerman 3 0-0 9, Aiden Senters 1 0-0 2, Grant Smith 1 1-1 3. TOTALS 19 14-17 55 SMCC (17-4, 11-3) Cayden Wikel 5 6-10 18, Blake Finneran 2 2-2 6, Sam Lawrence 3 0-0 6, Leo Will 6 3-6 18, Gabe Burch 1 0-0 2, Jack Davis 1 2-2 4, Bryan Gibson 1 0-0 3, Cullen Dillard 0 4-4 4, Trace Smith 1 0-0 3. TOTALS 23 17-24 64 Gibsonburg 7 7 11 30 — 55 SMCC 14 16 11 23 — 64 Three-point goals: Gibsonburg 3 (Zimmerman 3); SMCC 7 (Will 3, Wikel 2, Gibson, Smith)