Sat Nov 07 2009
By BRUCE HEFFLINGER
ARCHBOLD -- Sam Miller tried to make Tuesday's contest with Defiance just another game. But when you play against the school you went to a year ago that isn't easy to do.
The 6-0 junior ended up playing a huge role in helping Archbold beat the Bulldogs 49-34, stopping a six-game DHS win streak.
"I was a little nervous, I just tried to play with confidence and not let the rest of the things effect me," explained Miller, who moved from Defiance to Archbold in the summer. "It was good to see everybody. I still have a lot of friends there."
Maybe not after Tuesday.
Miller scored a career-high 11 points for the Blue Streaks, including three of the biggest baskets of the game.
After Dace Kime single-handedly helped the Bulldogs trim a 27-15 halftime deficit to 29-23, Miller came up big. A 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the third quarter stopped a 6-0 Defiance run, giving Archbold a 32-23 lead.
But Miller wasn't done.
He followed that up with a 3-ball from the right wing 15 seconds into the final period and, after Alex Keel hit a jump shot for DHS, showed his versatility by scoring inside to give the Streaks a 12-point lead. The Bulldogs never got closer than nine the rest of the way.
"We executed our offense really well," Miller said. "We set some good screens to help get me open and we did a good job of getting me the ball.
"They're a great team and came out in the second half and took us out of our offense. But once we settled down we were okay."
The Blue Streaks were better than okay early on, connecting on 7-of-10 field-goal attempts in the first quarter, including treys from Christian Goering, Telly Fricke and Miller, in jumping out to a 17-7 advantage. Collin Walker and David Rupp added 3-pointers in a second quarter that was capped off by a Goering layup at the buzzer giving Archbold its biggest lead to that point.
"We've been a work in progress," Archbold coach Doug Krauss said. "We started the season shooting furociously but we've worked hard and are seeing improvements, seeing things we didn't see a month ago."
The Bulldogs, which combined for just 16 turnovers in wins over Van Wert and Fairview last weekend, turned the ball over 10 times in the first half alone.
"I'm not sure I had us ready to play," DHS coach Kirk Lehman admitted. "We've done a great job all season of being prepared but we seemed a step slow tonight and I think that had to do with preparation."
Kime, who came off the bench to spark Saturday's win over Fairview, was at it again in the third quarter scoring all eight Defiance points to keep the Bulldogs in the game.
"I was pleased with Dace's effort, he carried over where he was on Saturday night," Lehman said. "He was active on the boards and active on offense, we just didn't have enough of that."
Archbold's defense, which rotated between man and a 2-3 zone, was a big reason.
"They're a young team that's getting better and better," Lehman said of the Blue Streaks, which started the season 3-5 but have now won four of their last six games. "They play hard and they're active with their hands on defense."
That part of the game is something Krauss is preaching to his squad.
"I tell the guys we might not score on offense but good defense will keep you in the game," the Archbold mentor said. "Early in the year the kind of lead we had tonight might evaporate."
The Streaks limited Keel, who came in averaging 16.4 points per game, to just six points, his first in single-digits this season.
"The one thing we really wanted to do was put as much pressure on the perimeter as we could," Krauss explained of stopping the DHS size advantage inside. "We wanted to make it hard to get good looks inside. When they did get it there, we wanted to give immediate help."
Lehman pointed to his team's patience as one big problem.
"Tonight we were more in a hurry than we've been in a long time," Lehman said. "We rushed everything we did. We rushed shots instead of getting set and on balance and we didn't have enough ball reversals. Give them credit, they had great pressure."
When the Bulldogs did gain a little momentum, Miller quickly put a stop to it.
"Sam hit those big 3s back to back," Lehman reflected. "He's capable of doing it. He gets his feet set and he doesn't take long to shoot. That was a momentum-changer right there."
Sophomore point guard Telly Fricke finished with a career-high 15 points to pace the Streaks in scoring, hitting 12 straight free throws in the final five minutes of the game to help keep Defiance at bay.
Kime also reached his high-point total with the Bulldogs scoring 12 points, missing just one shot from the floor. But the rest of the team managed to make but 8-of-31 field-goal attempts in falling to 8-4 heading into Friday's home tilt with Lima Shawnee.
Archbold was an easy winner in the junior varsity contest, with freshman Luke Kammeyer scoring 12 points and Clay Giesige 11 in a 39-17 victory. Josh Scott had nine points for Defiance (6-6).
BOX SCORE
DEFIANCE (34) - T. Keel 2; Nofziger 5; A. Keel 6; Gutman 0; Hammersmith 0; Beverly 5; Spitnale 2; Stapleton 1; Parsons 1; Kime 12; Burkhart 0. 13-37 7-13 34.
ARCHBOLD (49) - Price 0; Fricke 15; Smith 0; Rupp 9; Goering 5; Cor. Walker 2; McQuillin 2; S. Miller 11; Col. Walker 5; P. Miller 0; Giesige 0; Grosjean 0. Totals 14-27 14-21 49.
Three-point goals: Defiance - Nofziger. Archbold - S. Miller 3, Fricke, Goering, Col. Walker, Rupp. Rebounds: Defiance 23 (Gutman 4, Stapleton 4), Archbold 22 (Goering 4). Turnovers: Defiance 12, Archbold 12.
Defiance 7 8 8 11 - 34
Archbold 17 10 5 17 - 49
Reserves: Archbold, 39-17.
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