BBC SHOWDOWN … Kenneth Smeltzer (above) had 11 points in the Locos’ 65-44 win over Pettisville.
PHOTOS BY REBEKAH DELL / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
PETTISVILLE BIG MAN … Ryan Bishop puts up a shot from short range in the Blackbirds’ league showdown at Montpelier.
By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
MONTPELIER (January 23, 2026) – There was a lot of anticipation going into a huge Buckeye Border Conference showdown between Montpelier and Pettisville.
Both teams were undefeated at 3-0 in conference play heading into the matchup. It also featured two of the area’s leading scorers in Pettisville’s Jack Leppelmeier, who had averaged 24.5 points per game, and Montpelier’s CJ Fidler at 22.4 points per game.
And now with three conference games remaining it was the Locos who took advantage of a decisive fourth quarter scoring effort handing the Blackbirds their first conference setback in a 65-44 victory.
Before a capacity crowd in “The Railyard”, Montpelier got off to a quick start hitting eight of its first ten shots, which eventually turned out to be an important factor in the game. The Locos ended up hitting 24 of 40 shots for a blistering 60 percent for the night.
Following a three-pointer by Leppelmeier at the 3:30 mark of the first quarter giving Pettisville a 10-8 lead, Montpelier then went on a 9-0 run.
A three-pointer and a short jumper by Fidler followed by another trifecta by Hayden Sharps enabled the Locos to gain more confidence late in the quarter.
After a three-point basket by Pettisville’s Creighton Aeschliman to pull to within four points, 17-13, before Kenneth Smeltzer drained a trifecta at the buzzer enabling the Locos to take a 20-13 advantage.
“What I really like about that shot Kenneth (Smeltzer) hit at the buzzer, it was an answer to a shot that Jack Leppelmeier hit right before that,” said Montpelier head coach Nick Ramos.
“That momentum swing is huge in basketball when you get momentum swings like that. We fed from that going into the second quarter.”
In the second quarter, the Blackbirds relied upon Leppelmeier in keeping up with the Locos on the scoreboard.
Leppelmeier who led all scorers with 26 points, scored six straight points enabling Pettisville to pull within one point, 26-25. Montpelier answered right back with a 6-2 scoring run to close out the first half, leading 33-27.
“Kenneth Smeltzer did an outstanding job guarding Jack (Leppelmeier) tonight,” said Ramos. He (Leppelmeier) finished with 26 points, but I think he was frustrated and every shot he took was a hard shot.”
While the Blackbirds were attempting to mount a comeback in the third quarter closing the gap to four points, 43-39, on a bucket by freshman Zander Hogrefe, after the Locos had built a 12-point lead, 43-31, on a three-pointer by Sharps.
After a 12-foot bucket by Pettisville’s Alex Galvin to begin the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to 45-41, Montpelier would put the game out of reach.
The Locos did what they did best to push the tempo up a little bit and succeeded by scoring 18 unanswered points over a six-minute span in the final quarter.
A triple by Gavyn Bass began the scoring barrage for Montpelier, who were 7 of 11 for 63 percent in the fourth quarter from the field.
Hartsock added a pair of treys and Fidler drained the other as the Locos went up 63-41, before Galvin finally ended the Pettisville scoring drought with a three-pointer with two minutes remaining.
“In that fourth quarter we really wanted to push the ball and push the tempo up a little bit more,” said the Montpelier coach.
“We felt like we had a deeper bench and then we played a few more players than we usually do. We really wanted to amp things up in the fourth quarter. I thought we did a good job with that.”
Fidler led Montpelier with 21 points, including four three-pointers. Kenneth Smeltzer and Wesley Hartsock added 11 points each. The Locos were 6 of 8 for 75 percent from the line, along with 24 rebounds and six turnovers.
“I thought our kids battled probably for the first two and a half quarters,” said Pettisville head coach Brian Leppelmeier.
“But their offensive firepower really took over. We had to rotate and get a little bit of help. Then they found the open player and were knocking down shots.
“When we did get stops, they were getting the rebound, so we gave up some offensive rebounds. Obviously, some of our other players weren’t knocking down shots.
“With Jack (Leppelmeier) trying to score through three players made it a little bit difficult.”
Pettisville was 18 of 40 for 45 percent from the floor and 4 of 5 for 80 percent from the stripe. They had 14 rebounds and seven turnovers, five of those in the first quarter.
PETTISVILLE (44) – Leppelmeier 26; Galvin 5; Aeschliman 6; Hastings 0; Z. Hogrefe 2; Bishop 5; Totals: 14-4-4 – 44
MONTPELIER (65)- Stahler 0; Stewart 3; Sharps 8; Fidler 21; M. Smeltzer 6; Hartsock 11; Bass 5; K. Smeltzer 11; Totals: 13-11-6 – 65
PHS 13 14 12 5 – 44
MHS 20 13 12 20 – 65