STEAL AND SCORE … Wauseon senior Jude Armstrong scores after making a steal early in the fourth quarter. (PHOTO BY JACOB KESSLER, STAFF)
By: Nate Calvin
MILLBURY – A cold shooting night can end a team’s season in the tournament in a heartbeat and that’s what the Wauseon Indians ran into Thursday night at Lake High School.
Wauseon would go 9/34 (26%) from the floor, including 2/10 (20%) from behind the arc as they fell to Rossford 38-21 in the Division II district semifinals.
It was a slow start offensively for both teams as Tyson Rodriguez hit a trey from the left wing and Landon Hines scored down low to give Wauseon their last lead of the night at 5-3.
The second-seeded Bulldogs would begin to get their offense clicking with a 5-0 spurt to end the quarter as Brandon Swope scored in the lane followed by triple from 6’10” Derek Vorst to make it 8-5.
Hines opened the second quarter scoring with what turned out to be the Indians only bucket of the quarter to bring Wauseon within one at 8-7.
With Vorst getting the attention of the Indians defense inside, he was able to find open teammates on multiple occasions as Swope scored again before Jake Morrison added a two-pointer and a triple to make it 15-7.
A 16-7 halftime lead for Rossford quickly increased with Vorst getting free for a bucket inside and Morrison added a basket to give the Bulldogs a 20-7 advantage early in the third.
Jack Leatherman stopped a long scoring drought for the Indians with a bucket, but Rossford answered with six straight points ending with a corner three-pointer in transition from Garette Murphree for a 26-9 lead.
A Hines field goal followed by a steal and layup by Jude Armstrong started the final frame for the Indians to trim the lead to 28-15.
Rossford would then slam the door on a Wauseon rally with a 6-0 run thanks to a bucket from Morrison and then Vorst found Wes Ellison and Morrison with passes from the post for scores to push the lead to 34-15.
Vorst was limited to five points on the night but was credited with seven assists and recorded four blocked shots.
Morrison led the scoring for Rossford (20-4) with 14 points as the Bulldogs will face No. 1 seed Toledo Central Catholic (20-4) in the district final on Saturday night.
Leatherman and Rodriguez each had five points for Wauseon, who ends the season at 16-8 after starting the year 7-7 before stringing together nine straight wins.
WAUSEON (21) – Leatherman 5; Rodriguez 5; Armstrong 2; McLeod 2; Gype 0; Vajen 0; Hines 4; Keefer 0; Parsons 3; Patterson 0; Totals: 7-2-1 – 21
ROSSFORD (38) – Quintanilla 0; Revels 1; Ellison 4; Boyd 0; Murphree 8; Morrison 14; Vorst 7; Dewey 0; Totals: 12-4-4 – 38
GAME STATISTICS – WAUSEON: FG – 9/34 (26%); FT – 1/1 (100%); Rebounds – 17 (3 offensive); Turnovers – 14; ROSSFORD: FG – 16/33 (48%); FT – 2/5 (40%) Rebounds – 18 (4 offensive); Turnovers – 6
WAUSEON 5 2 4 10 – 21
ROSSFORD 8 8 12 10 – 38
Nate can be reached at sports@thevillagereporter.com