SMCC's season ends in district loss to Old Fort

OREGON — In a defensive struggle where points would be at a premium, Old Fort was able to go on a run in the fourth quarter to grab control in its 40-29 win over St. Mary Central Catholic in a Division VII district semifinal at Clay High School on Thursday. The Panthers (19-5) led 24-23 after three quarters, but the Stockaders (15-8) went on a tear, scoring the first six points of the quarter. Old Fort forward Isaac Gallagher made a free throw to tie the score at 24 early in the fourth quarter. Teammate Grant Havens scored on a short runner to give Old Fort the lead for good at 26-24. The Stockaders would push the lead to 29-24, finishing off a 6-0 run. Cayden Wikel drained a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 29-27 with 2:34 to play. However, Old Fort responded as it did throughout the game, scoring the next five points — four of which came from 6-foot-7 post Henry Beisner — to push the lead to 34-27. SMCC would get no closer than five points the rest of the way. Wikel scored on a drive to cut the lead to five and Panthers coach Kyle Hammond called a timeout with 1:20 remaining. But, Stockaders guard Brock Hull scored inside and Wikel missed a 3 with 43 seconds left. Old Fort closed it out from there with four free throws. The Stockaders outscored SMCC 17-5 in the fourth quarter. "We just couldn't get into a flow on offense," Hammond said. "We struggled with their length, and their defense made things difficult on us." The Panthers led 17-15 at the half, but were up 15-8 following an and-1 from Wikel early in the second quarter. Old Fort closed the first half on a 7-2 run, getting points from Beisner, Gallagher, Andrew Tackett and Dimitri Carter. Old Fort raced out to a 20-17 lead in the third quarter, scoring the first five points on a basket by Gallagher and a 3 from Hull. But Leo Will hit a 3 to tie the score, and there were two more ties, one late in the third quarter, and the other early in the fourth period, before the Stockaders grabbed hold of the game. The third quarter and the beginning of the fourth had four ties and four lead changes. Beisner had a game-high 13 points and Wikel led SMCC with 10 points. Leo Will chipped in with eight points. The teams, rivals in the Sandusky Bay Conference River Division, saw the Panthers win the previous meeting, 48-33 on Dec. 18. "We knew it was going to be tough," Old Fort coach Eric Hoover said. "They play great defense. We tried to put some wrinkles in on offense, and I think it kind of worked. Ultimately, it came down to our defense. We might've left some points on the floor, but we expected that." The first quarter was something of a microcosm for the game as the teams struggled to get anything going offensively, and SMCC led 10-6. It was the final game for a special group of Panthers seniors — Bryan Gibson, Jack Davis, Blake Finneran, Sam Lawrence, Gabe Burch and Crew Trumpower. "They're the best. I enjoyed coaching them so much," Hammond said. "They're a great group of kids. They worked so hard." Finneran talked about what he wants the future of the program to look like. "For four years, there's been a lot of family and friendships," he said. "I'm mad at the way it ended, but not with what happened (along the way). "I think beating Huron on the road and Gibsonburg were some of the highlights of the season. Nobody expected us to do well, so getting those big wins was great. We had a lot of depth, and I'm expecting big things next year." OLD FORT (16-8) Isaac Gallagher 3 2-5 8, Brock Hull 1 0-0 3, Andrew Tackett 1 3-6 5, Grant Havens 2 1-4 5, Dimitri Carter 2 2-4 6, Henry Beisner 5 3-6 13. TOTALS 14 11-25 40 ST. MARY CC (19-5) Bryan Gibson 0 2-2 2, Jack Davis 1 0-0 3, Cayden Wikel 4 1-1 10, Blake Finneran 1 0-0 2, Leo Will 3 0-0 8, Cullen Dillard 1 0-0 2, Jackson Grimm 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 11 3-3 29 Old Fort 6 9 8 17 — 40 SMCC 10 7 7 5 — 29 Three-point goals: Old Fort 1 (Hull); SMCC 4 (Will 2, Wikel, Davis)