(March 11th, 2015) – TOLEDO: After successfully earning a Sectional title by defeating regular season opponents Napoleon and Rossford, the boys of Wauseon readied themselves for yet another rematch as they took on one seed Defiance in District play. The Indians looked to avenge a 28 point loss to the Bulldogs back in January.
While Wauseon displayed a great deal of improvement since that game, they still fell just short of defeating the Defiance boys. The Bulldogs held off the Indians in overtime, 51-48.
From the opening quarter, the Indian boys made it quite clear that they came to play. The period was an intense battle, with each side struggling to gain the upper hand. By the sounding of the final buzzer of the frame, Defiance had managed to barely hold a lead over their North Western Ohio Athletic League opponents by a 9-8 margin. At the start of the second stanza, neither side showed any drop off in effort. Again, however, Wauseon fell just short of matching the Bulldog scoring for the period, with Defiance outscoring the Indians 10-8. Down by 3 points, the seventh seeded underdogs jogged to the locker room on the wrong end of a 19-16 score.
The Wauseon defense took a step backward in the third quarter. While the Indian offense remaind consistent by turning in another 8 point performance, they gave up 14 points on the other end of the court. This put Wauseon in a 9 point deficit going into the fourth frame, 33-24. In need of a miracle to keep their season alive, the Indian boys produced one. An offensive explosion allowed Wauseon to rack up an impressive 19 points down the stretch. Defiance was unable to match that number, putting up only 10 points. Having made up the difference between their collective score with the Bulldogs, the Indians looked to stun the boys from Defiance County in overtime.
It wasn’t meant to be, though. Both teams played with heart and a sense of urgency in the extra frame. Yet it was Defiance who was able to gain a late lead, refusing to relinquish it to Wauseon. The Indians were bested 8-5 in overtime after giving the Bulldog boys all they could handle.
Noah Castle led the way in his last game in a Wauseon jersey. Scoring 16 points and pulling down 15 boards, Castled produced a double-double against an elite Bulldogs squad. Jacob Newlove gave his team a boost offensively with 17 points, finishing his own Indian career on a high note as well. Newlove did virtually all of his work inside of the three-point line, putting 7 of his two-point field attempts through the bottom of the net. Sophomore Carter Bzovi managed 8 points, making 6 of them from the free throw line, in the loss.