(PHOTOS BY RACHEL NAGEL / THE VILLAGE REPORTER)
BBC SHOWDOWN … Mason Wyse protects the ball as two Locos close in for the double team in the fourth quarter.
LONG RANGE … Miguel Alvira hits a triple from the corner to keep the Locos close in the fourth quarter last Friday at Pettisville High School.
By: Nate Calvin
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
sports@thevillagereporter.com
PETTISVILLE (January 31, 2025) – Pettisville guard Jack Leppelmeier started fast with 11 points in the opening quarter and poured in 38 on the night as the Blackbirds handed Montpelier their first league loss 62-51.
Both teams came out firing in the opening eight minutes as Leppelmeier and Josh Morris connected on triples while Joel Saneholtz hit one for the Locos as the score was tied 10-10 in a fast pace first quarter.
Leppelmeier would add two more three-pointers in the quarter and Caden Bishop scored down low as the Birds took an 18-14 lead into the second.
Leppelmeier hit again from the right wing, but Montpelier’s Gavyn Bass answered back with a triple of his own from the right corner to cut the Loco deficit to 21-17.
The lead grew for Pettisville after two foul shots by Leppelmeier, a bucket from Morris, and Leppelmeier drilled another triple from the left side with a hand in his face to make it 28-19 at the 2:20 mark.
Miguel Alvira’s three-pointer brought Montpelier to within 28-22 but Pettisville responded with scores from Creighton Aeschliman and Mason Wyse to give Pettisville their first double-digit lead at 32-22.
The Locos would get the final points of the first half as Saneholtz scored a stick back at the horn to make it 32-24.
Montpelier freshman CJ Fidler got his first points of the night on a layup to start the third, but Aeschliman and Bishop scored again and Leppelmeier hit a jumper in the lane for a 38-31 advantage.
After a Wyse hoop made it 40-31, the Locos ripped off six straight points as Hayden Sharps put back his own miss, Saneholtz scored off glass, and Kenneth Smeltzer scored on a drive for a 40-37 score at the 1:06 mark.
Following a Pettisville timeout, the Blackbirds would hold for the final shot of the quarter and Leppelmeier scored on a finger roll at the horn to give Pettisville a 42-37 lead heading to the fourth.
The first points of the fourth wouldn’t come until 4:05 remained in the game on a Morris layup, Leppelmeier then turned in a conventional three-point play, and he would go 2/2 at the line for a 49-39 lead.
Two Fidler free throws were followed by a Leppelmeier score on a drive and then Alvira buried a trey from the left corner to keep Montpelier within striking distance at 51-44.
The final two minutes were a parade to the foul line for Pettisville as a 5/6 stretch at the stripe pushed the lead to 56-45.
Montpelier made one more run with a quick six points behind a ‘and-1’ from Smeltzer and Alvira buried a three ball from the top of the key to trim the Blackbird lead to 56-51 with 31.5 seconds to go.
A 6-0 run by Pettisville (13-4, 4-1 BBC) closed it out with free throws by Leppelmeier, Aeschliman, and Wyse and a final bucket by Leppelmeier.
Pettisville hit 21/37 (58%) shots from the field and scored 12 of their 20 fourth quarter points at the free throw line. Smeltzer had 13 to lead the Locos (12-4, 4-1 BBC) while Sharps ended with 11.
The Montpelier loss creates a three-way tie on top of the BBC with the Locos, Pettisville, and Edon all sitting at 4-1 with two weeks left in the regular season.
MONTPELIER (51) – Saneholtz 7; Sharps 11; Fidler 8; Hartsock 0; Sommer 0; Alvira 9; Bass 3; K. Smeltzer 13; Totals: 13-7-4 – 51
PETTISVILLE (62) – Leppelmeier 38; Galvin 0; Aeschliman 6; Morris 7; Wyse 5; C. Bishop 6; Totals: 15-6-14 – 62
MHS 14 10 13 14 – 51
PHS 18 14 10 20 – 62
Junior Varsity: Montpelier, 30-27
GAME STATISTICS
MONTPELIER: FG – 20/42 (48%); FT – 4/6 (67%); Rebounds 16 (6 offensive); Turnovers – 8; PETTISVILLE: FG – 21/37 (57%); FT – 14/20 (70%); Rebounds – 17 (7 offensive); Turnovers – 4
