Tue Feb 09 2010
By BRUCE HEFFLINGER
One important and often overlooked component in high school athletics is having fun. The Bulldogs of Defiance had plenty of it on Monday night.
With every full-time varsity player scoring, DHS rolled to a dominating 62-20 win over Wapakoneta in a Western Buckeye League make-up game.
"It's great to have a game like this, to reward the kids that work hard every day in practice," Defiance coach Kirk Lehman said after all varsity members split time on the floor. "The guys did a great job of being unselfish."
And an even better job rebounding. Before the game was three minutes old the Bulldogs had pulled down eight offensive boards. By the end of the first quarter DHS had accumulated 17 rebounds en route to an astounding 53 for the game. Defiance came into the contest averaging 21.6 a contest.
"I was pleased with the way the team came out of the locker room," Lehman explained. "It's a concern when you play a team that hasn't won, but we came out and played well. We didn't knock in those offensive rebounds, but we've been preaching about getting to the boards and we did a good job with that tonight."
Despite hitting just 4-of-24 field-goal attempts to start the game, the Bulldogs led 17-6. Then the hosts warmed up, connecting on 50 percent of their shots the rest of the way.
A pair of Eric Stapleton field goals sandwiched around a driving layup by Craig Gutman and an inside bucket by Ron Beverly gave DHS a 25-6 halftime advantage.
It didn't stay that close long.
After Alex Keel opened the third quarter with a foul-line jumper, Taylor Keel took over, converting a three-point play on a drive to the hoop, scoring on a steal and a layup and following that up with a pull-up jumper for a 34-6 advantage.
"I've been trying to play more aggressive," explained the 6-1 senior. "We need more contributions from more players."
Keel finished with a season-high 10 points while adding five rebounds and four steals.
"I don't consider myself a scorer, more of a creator for others," Keel said. "I just had openings tonight and I took advantage of them."
It was something his head coach has been looking for out his senior captain.
"It was really good to see Taylor have the game he had," Lehman pointed out. "He's gradually starting to be more aggressive on the offensive end. He was pressing some early on this season but it's good to see him have this breakout."
Chaz Burkhart, Dace Kime and Travis Spitnale all got in the scoring act in the final four minutes of the third quarter, capped off by a Beverly fast-break layup at the buzzer giving the Bulldogs a 46-12 lead.
"They're just better than we are, we're not very good," said Wapak coach Scott Minnig. "They're competitive and we're not - plain and simple.
"Basketball's a game of skill. You've got to have skills and athleticism and we have neither."
Another strong defensive performance by the Bulldogs made things tough on the 0-10 Redskins.
"We've been solid defensively all year but the last couple weeks we've gotten better," Lehman noted. "We've added a few things and just gotten better."
An 11-2 run to open the fourth quarter, started off by a pair of Steve Hammersmith hoops gave the Bulldogs a 57-14 lead with 3:20 left and with it a fourth straight victory.
"Hammer did a good job on the offensive boards tonight," Lehman said. "He's really starting to develop that part of his game."
The junior varsity game had a much more exciting finish with Gabe Stuck converting a three-point play with 1.9 seconds left giving Defiance a 30-27 win. Preston Pixler had 10 points for the Bulldogs (5-4), which trailed 24-18 after three quarters.
DHS returns to WBL play on Friday at home with Van Wert before hosting Fairview on Saturday.
BOX SCORE
WAPAKONETA (20) - Jackson 2; Oen 1; Kohler 3; Lambert 0; Heini 0; Helmstetter 9; Bogan 0; Ruppert 5; Stevely 0; George 0. Totals 7-47 2-8 20.
DEFIANCE (62) - T. Keel 10; Nofziger 4; A. Keel 11; Gutman 4; Hammersmith 5; Beverly 4; Parsons 8; Spitnale 3; Stapleton 4; Kime 4; Burkhart 5; Peter 0. Totals 24-58 11-15 62.
Three-point goals: Wapakoneta - Helmstetter 2, Lambert, Ruppert. Defiance - Parsons, Spitnale, Burkhart. Rebounds: Wapakoneta 27, Defiance 53 (Gutman 8, Beverly 7, Stapleton 7). Turnovers: Wapakoneta 16, Defiance 13.
Wapakoneta 3 3 6 8 - 20
Defiance 12 13 21 16 - 62
Reserves: Defiance, 30-27.
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