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Local Sports from The CourierMonday, March 11, 2013Boys basketball: Titans explode in second halfStaff Writer NAPOLEON -- Ottawa-Glandorf forwards Michael Rosebrook and Noah Bramlage both had their moments to shine Saturday night inside the Grand Canyon at Napoleon High School. Rosebrook was highly efficient during the first half, Bramlage was a force in the third quarter and both used strong fourth-quarter efforts to guide the Titans to a 56-34 win over Tinora in a Division III district championship game. Ottawa-Glandorf, now 22-3, moves on to play Lima Central Catholic (23-2) in the regional semifinals at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Bowling Green State University's Stroh Center. It will be the fourth straight year the Titans and T-Birds will be clashing in either a district final or regional-level matchup. The Titans defeated Lima Central Catholic 44-38 in the Division III regional final a season ago before a packed house at the Stroh Center. The Thunderbirds, denied an ourtright Northwest Conference championship by Spencerville, beat the Bearcats 66-60 in Saturday's district final rematch to move on to the regional. When Tinora's EJ Kissel drained a 3-pointer from the wing with 4:02 left in the third quarter, it appeared Ottawa-Glandorf fans would be sweating out a close contest for the second time in three days. The Rams (20-6), despite being drastically undersized compared to the Titans, had stayed even with O-G for 2? quarters by rebounding well and hitting 9 of 10 free throws in the first half. But things changed quickly. Bramlage, a 6-foot-7 sophomore forward who scored 13 of his 17 points during the third quarter, scored an inside bucket on an inbounds play and hit two free throws a possession later to give the Titans a 36-32 lead. Then, Ottawa-Glandorf, which had deployed a 1-3-1 defense at times in the first half, switched to a 2-3 zone. Tinora, which had been 10 of 29 shooting up to that point, did not make a field goal for the final 12 minutes of the game. Sam Lehman's two free throws on the Rams' first possession of the fourth quarter were the only points Tinora scored for the remainder of the contest. "We talked about (going to a zone)," Ottawa-Glandorf head coach Tyson McGlaughlin said. "We had been playing some 1-3-1. We decided to get out there and switch out to a 2-3 zone and extend it and it just was one of those things that worked. "We didn't know how long it would work. We tried it out and that is a credit to our assistant coaches. They called it out to me. I'm not taking any credit for that, they went out there and made it happen." The Rams missed their final 15 field goal attempts, 10 of which were from beyond the arc. "They are long and lanky and that zone was definitely the right call for them at that time," Tinora head coach Andy Hunter said. "We still had some looks out of it, especially early on, and we missed them. "We were not hitting anything and they were doing a nice job of limiting us to one shot; we weren't getting any offensive boards." Meanwhile, Ottawa-Glandorf became more aggressive on the offensive end of the floor and scored on numerous baskets inside the paint. Rosebrock, a 6-4senior forward who scored a game-high 22 points, and Bramlage finished off Tinora. "We had a size advantage," Bramlage said. "I knew I had one and I just tried my best to exploit it on the boards and go down low and really just give it to them." The two inside players carried O-G offensively on a night when Associated Press Division III All-Northwest Ohio Player of the Year T.J. Metzger struggled, scoring just three points against tough defensive pressure. Rosebrock was 7 of 9 shooting from the field in the first half and scored 14 of O-G's 21 points by the intermission. Bramlage had 6 of his 13 third-quarter points during the Titans' 10-0 run to end the period, which gave them a comfortable 42-32 lead going into the final eight minutes. "My shot was really coming through in the first half so I gained the confidence to keep shooting and started knocking down some shots," Rosebrock said. "Mike and Noah really played," McGlaughlin said. "They showed why they get the recognition that they do. "Mike did what he typically does. Noah came in with a huge spurt there, hit big jump shots, went to the rack, got to the foul line and cleaned up on the glass." Tinora junior Derek Drewes, also an Associated Press Division III All-Northwest Ohio first team pick, was stymied by the O-G defense and netted just three points. "We heard people say that it was our size against their athleticism," McGlaughlin said. "We are pretty athletic and our guys were kind of offended by that. "Caleb Siefker and Jacob Leopold, I give them them the MVP's of the game because their defensive efforts on him was phenomenal." Robert Wuo led Tinora with 12 points. Metzger and Bramlage each had eight rebounds for the Titans. O-G held just a 15-14 rebounding advantage by halftime, but ended up outrebounding the Rams 29-22 by the end of the game. TINORA (20-6) Wuo 4-3--12, Drewes 0-2--2, Renollet 1-0--2, Frank 1-0-3, Kahle 1-2--4, Harris 0-0--0, Kissel 1-0--3, Lehman 2-2--6, Miller 0-2--2. TOTALS: 10-44 11-14--34. Ottawa-Glandorf (22-4) Beckman 0-0--0, Kaufman 0-4--4, Westrick 1-0--2, VonSossan 0-0—0, Schroeder 0-0--0, Leopold 1-0—2, Rosebrock 11-0--22, Siefker 2-2--6, Bramlage 5-7--17, Metzger 1-1--3. TOTALS: 21-41 14-18--56. Tinora 9 13 10 2 -- 34 Ottawa-Glandorf 11 10 21 14 -- 56 3-Point GOALS: Tinora 3-17 (Wuo, Frank & Kissel); Ottawa-Glandorf 0-4. rebounds: Tinora 22 (Drewes & Lehman 5); Ottawa-Glandorf 39 (Metzger & Bramlage 8). turnovers: Ottawa-Glandorf 13, Tinora 11. Inniger, 419-422-5151 nathaninniger@thecourier.com Subscribe to The Courier. |
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