SLICING THE DEFENSE … Chris Shrader makes a strong move toward the bucket with Gibsonburg defenders close by.
PHOTOS BY JACOB KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
TOURNAMENT TIME … Evergreen’s George Allendorf looks for a driving lane in last Friday’s sectional final at Gibsonburg. VIEW 137 PHOTOS OF THIS CONTEST FOR FREE AT WWW.THEVILLAGEREPORTER.COM
By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
GIBSONBURG (February 27, 2026) – Evergreen came from behind at second-seeded Gibsonburg again and again but couldn’t get all the way over the top before finally falling to the 20-3 Golden Bears, 68-60, in a Division VI sectional final at Gibsonburg.
Troy Manz’s triple and a George Allendorf basket gave Evergreen an early 5-3 lead. The Golden Bears came right back, mostly in the form of Aiden Morant, who knocked down a pair of triples in his eight-point quarter to take a 15-9 lead.
A spinning drive by Will Ruetz closed the gap to 15-11 after the first, and the Vikings kept coming in the second.
Manz found Ruetz for an easy basket inside, then Quinn Eisel put back a Vikings miss to boost Evergreen up 16-15 with 6:40 left in the half.
Xander Zimmerman hit from outside the arc to regain a Gibsonburg lead, but back-to-back buckets off Golden Bear turnovers from Manz and Chris Shrader put the Vikings back up 20-18 with 4:57 left.
Morant’s 10th point of the first half and consecutive buckets from Luke Foster off loose balls helped Gibsonburg go up 29-24 at halftime.
The Vikes shot just 11-31 in the first half compared to Gibsonburg’s 12-27. Foster’s triple and a Reece Walby basket off a turnover ran Gibsonburg’s lead to 37-28 two minutes into the third, but the Vikings’ pressure began to take its toll.
Ruetz got to the rim, then Allendorf went end-to-end off a steal to slice into the Gibsonburg lead.
Allendorf hit a triple after another turnover, then Shrader fed Eisel for a hoop off a third Gibsonburg miscue to bring Evergreen from nine down to one up with 4:28 left in the third.
After back-and-forth hoops kept the score tied at 42-all, Morant struck again with a drive to give Gibsonburg a 44-42 lead.
Eisel’s 2-2 from the stripe gave Evergreen a 45-44 advantage, but Foster’s bucket and a pair of Walby free throws put the Bears on top 49-47 heading into the fourth.
Manz found Eisel on a pick-and-roll to keep Evergreen within 51-50 with 5:04 left, but Evergreen went ice cold after that.
While Evergreen was misfiring (the Vikes were 5-21 in the fourth quarter), Gibsonburg slowly extended the lead.
Zimmerman’s pair of three-pointers put the Bears up 64-54 with 2:34 left. Eisel’s third-chance bucket got Evergreen within eight, then Ruetz nailed a triple with 40 seconds left to get Evergreen within five.
Allendorf’s steal gave Evergreen (12-11) another chance to chop into the deficit, but a pair of Evergreen misses spelled the end for the Vikings.
Gibsonburg shot 25-54 for the game compared to the Vikings’ 25-68. Gibsonburg had 15 turnovers compared to nine by Evergreen.
Eisel and Ruetz each had 19 to lead the Vikings, who finished at 12-11. Morant and Walby scored 16 each to pace Gibsonburg while Foster added 14, and Zimmerman had 11.
EVERGREEN (60) – Manz 8; Ruetz 19; Q. Eisel 19; Allendorf 9; Bolger 0; Gillen 2; Shrader 3; Totals: 22-3-7 – 60
GIBSONBURG (68) – Morant 16; Walby 16; Zimmerman 11; Havens 0; Foster 14; Rodriguez 4; Wasserman 7; Totals: 18-7-11 – 68
EHS 11 13 23 13 – 60
GHS 15 14 20 19 – 68
For more local news, see High School Sports Schedule For Thursday, March 26, 2026 (WEATHER PERMITTING).