SPLITTING THE DEFENSE … Edon’s Briggs Gallehue makes a move to the hoop between two Pettisville defenders.
PHOTOS BY REBEKAH DELL / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
PETTISVILLE FRESHMAN … Graycen Osterday takes a jumper from the top of the key during the Blackbirds’ district semifinal game at Bryan High School. VIEW 103 PHOTOS OF THIS CONTEST FOR FREE AT WWW.THEVILLAGEREPORTER.COM
By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
BRYAN (March 5, 2026) – One could almost hear the echo of Hickory coach Norman Dale in “Hoosiers.” “Five passes before you shoot.” Did he say five? Or was it 25?
It may have seemed like the latter in the Division VII district semifinal at Bryan, as Pettisville and Edon each treated every possession of the basketball like it was a golden nugget that needed protection.
The Blackbirds made the most of the time they had the ball, shooting 50 percent in the second half, along with 9-for-10 from the foul line in the fourth quarter to finally put away the Bombers, 34-29.
“I thought in the first half we got the looks we wanted,” veteran Blackbird coach Brian Leppelmeier said.
“Things weren’t falling but I thought we had good looks. We rushed a few possessions but I thought our defense was really solid.”
It took over two minutes in the opening quarter before Corbin Chrisman’s three-pointer put Edon on the board first. Creighton Aeschliman’s score from the middle of the key gave Pettisville a 4-3 lead at the end of the period.
Graycen Osterday hit from outside the arc, and Ryan Bishop scored inside to put the Blackbirds up 11-7 with 2:30 left in the half.
Edon countered as Kendol Brigle hit a baseline jumper, and Chrisman tripled for the second time to give the Bombers a 12-11 margin at the half.
The teams combined to take just 27 shots between them in the first half as possessions took as long as 60 seconds in some cases.
With Pettisville up 14-13 midway through the third, the Blackbirds got some distance when Jack Leppelmeier found Bishop for a layup, then hit his only field goal of the game at the 3:40 mark to open an 18-13 lead.
Kadin Stantz’s three-pointer sliced the margin to a deuce, but Osterday hit again from long range to regain a 21-16 Blackbird lead going into the fourth.
The biggest stat of the third was Edon going one-and-out six times, shooting just 1-for-7 from the floor and not having a rebound the whole quarter.
Leppelmeier hit Bishop again for an easy score and added a pair from the line to give Pettisville (15-9) its largest lead at 25-16.
That pattern would be the theme of the whole fourth quarter. Edon chopped the deficit to 25-20 on two Briggs Gallehue buckets, then to 27-23 when Chrisman tripled for the fourth time in the game.
However, for a third time Leppelmeier found Bishop for an easy one, then put the game away himself by knocking down 5-for-6 at the foul line in the final 44 seconds.
“In the second half we had patience. We told our guys to stop being in a hurry,” Coach Leppelmeier explained about the very efficient offense in the last two quarters.
“We were patient with the basketball and got the shot we wanted whether it was a three from Graycen or Ryan Bishop on a dump and obviously we cashed at the free-throw line.”
In all, Leppelmeier canned 11-for-12 from the stripe and had a game-high 13 points. Chrisman had 12 to pace Edon (15-8).
PETTISVILLE (34) – Leppelmeier 13; Galvin 0; Aeschliman 4; Osterday 9; Hoylman 0; Bishop 8; Totals: 7-3-11 – 34
EDON (29) – Stantz 6; Chrisman 12; Kiess 0; Brigle 2; Gonzalez-Ariza 0; Gallehue 9; Reed 0; Totals: 4-6-3 – 29
PHS 4 7 10 13 – 34
EHS 3 9 4 13 – 29
