ARCHBOLD SENIOR … Cade Brenner creates space before hoisting a foul line jumper in the first half of Saturday night’s district final versus Emmanuel Christian. (PHOTOS BY JACOB KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
By: Nate Calvin
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
NAPOLEON (March 9, 2024) – Archbold came out on fire from the floor hitting four triples to jump out to a 14-7 lead after one quarter over top seed Emmanuel Christian in the Division III district final at the Grand Canyon.
Archbold’s shooting cooled going just 4/20 from deep the rest of the way and the Warriors outscored the Streaks 55-30 in the final three quarters for a 62-44 win and their first district title in program history.
Jayden Seiler provided the first triple of the night with Archbold down 4-0 early and a Micah Nofziger layup gave Archbold their first lead at 5-4.
Sonny Phillips then dialed one up from deep and Cade Brenner knocked down a pair to give Archbold a 14-7 lead, their largest of the night.
Emmanuel Christian quickly erased the deficit with an 8-0 run to start the second stanza as freshman Antwoine Mister had five points before Warrior sophomore Nate Milles III turned in a three-point play for a 15-14 lead.
The teams traded the lead six times the remainder of the half as Brenner hit two more three balls but two free throws by Miles with 3.2 left in the half gave the Warriors a 24-23 advantage at halftime.
Phillips drilled a triple and Chase Miller added a bucket for a 5-0 spurt by the Streaks to start the third quarter to put Archbold on top, 28-24.
Miles would then put the Warriors on his back with a bucket in the low post, a trey from the left wing, and a fade away jumper from right of the lane to make it 34-28 with 3:28 left in the third.
Archbold would trim the lead to 34-31 before a layup by Jalen Brown followed by a steal and score from Miles pushed the lead to 38-31 going to the fourth.
Scores by Miles and Jacob Sims began the final quarter and gave the Warriors their first double-digit lead of the night, 42-31 with 7:00 remaining.
D3 DISTRICT FINAL … Braden Piercefield takes the ball toward the baseline while defended by Kayden Lightner of Emmanuel Christian.
Archbold would then start to attack the rim as Brenner scored on a drive and Phillips added two buckets and two free throws to make it a 46-39 game.
It was all Warriors after that as they finished the game with a 16-5 run highlighted by a steal and dunk by Miles and 7/9 from the free throw line down the stretch as they finished the quarter 9/13 at the stripe.
Archbold, who ends the season 22-3, was paced by Brenner with 19 points and Phillips had a dozen.
Miles led three Warriors (22-3) in double figures with 25 points to go along with his 16 rebounds, Mister had 16, and Brown tallied 10.
ARCHBOLD (44) – Rodriguez 0; Phillips 12; Brenner 19; Wendt 3; Seiler 3; Diller 0; Miller 2; Valentine 0; Nofziger 2; Piercefield 3; Totals: 8-8-4 – 44
E. CHRISTIAN (62) – Lightner 7; Williams 0; Brown 10; Miles III 25; Sims 4; Mister 16; Urseye-Martin 0; Wells 0; Coley 0; Hester 0; Totals: 14-6-16 – 62
ARCHBOLD 14 9 8 13 – 44
E. CHRISTIAN 7 17 14 24 – 62
GAME STATISTICS
ARCHBOLD: FG – 16/47 (34%); FT – 4/6 (66%); Rebounds – 23 (3 offensive); Turnovers – 9; E. CHRISTIAN: FG – 20/50 (40%); FT – 16/24 (66%); Rebounds – 35 (12 offensive); Turnovers – 6
