BLOCK SHOT … Archbold’s Aranjer Krieger goes up to block the shot attempt of Edon’s Briggs Gallehue.
PHOTOS BY REBEKAH DELL / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
EDON BOMBER … Kadin Stantz (above) tallied 11 points as the Bombers dealt Archbold their first loss of the season.
By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
EDON (January 3, 2026) – On a night when Edon’s Briggs Gallehue became just the seventh player in program history to reach the 1,000-point barrier, the 6-2 senior also helped lead the Bombers to a thrilling 58-55 overtime victory over previously undefeated Archbold.
Coming off a tough overtime loss to Edgerton in the Route 49 Holiday Classic championship game on December 30, the Bombers were able to put together a gutsy performance against the very tough Bluestreaks.
“We talked after Tuesday night where it kind of put us at a crossroads at the end of 2025 and into 2026,” said Edon head coach Matt Ripke.
“I said, go one or two ways, either you’re going to bag it and pout and feel sorry for ourselves or find a way to get better. We knew we had a tremendous challenge coming in with a well-coached Archbold team. Our guys responded.”
With the score tied at 49-49 going into overtime, Ripke knew the Bombers were in a similar situation that had happened against Edgerton with several bad turnovers down the stretch in the fourth quarter.
“Somebody on the bench said something about this isn’t going like Tuesday did,” said Ripke.
“I reminded all of them, this is a different game. Our focus must be on the next four minutes, not anything that happened on Tuesday. They focused forward and found a way in the last four minutes to come away with a victory.”
After scoring the first six points of the game, the Bluestreaks led by as many as eight points, 14-8, on a layup by Jarrett Rufenacht on a nice assist from Collin Short in the first quarter.
Archbold led 14-10 after one quarter of play and 23-18 at halftime before a Maddox Pinter wide open trifecta enabled the Bluestreaks to open up an eight-point lead, 26-18, early in the third quarter.
Gallehue who needed just ten points to reach 1,000 points, finally reached the milestone as he scored on a layup and was then fouled, thus making the free throw for the conventional three-point play at the 5:55 mark of the third quarter.
“He’s probably one of the most complete players that I’ve ever coached,” said Ripke. “He (Gallehue) can go down in the post and bang and score those baskets down there. And he also can step out in the perimeter and score as well.”
He joins six other former Bomber cage greats, Justin Best (1,647 points, 1996-99); Jim Bauer (1,500 points, 1983-86); Jeremy Best (1,442 points, 1989-92); Drew Gallehue (1,175 points, 2019-22); Mark Smith (1,139 points, 2001-04) and Jim Adams (1,136 points, 1982-85).
“It feels pretty good knowing my uncle, Justin Best, and my cousin Jeremy Best and my older brother Drew Gallehue are already up there,” said Gallehue.
“But winning the game tonight was huge for us. This will help us for the rest of the season and play tough teams like Archbold. They were undefeated and we came ready to play and executed things and just played a really good game.”
Archbold led 40-39 through three quarters of play, but the Bombers would go on an 8-1 scoring run with Kendol Brigle scoring off a feed from Kadin Stantz for a 47-41 lead with 4:10 left in the fourth quarter.
Two free throws by Wyatt Gericke and a steal and layup by Maddox Pinter pulled Archbold to within two points, 47-45, before Stantz pushed the Edon lead back to four points, 49-45, with a bucket at the 1:44 mark of the quarter.
Archbold’s Isaiahs Gracia then scored off his own missed shot with a minute remaining, and Morgan Harris tied the game at 49-49 with a short jumper with 33 seconds left.
Following a timeout, the Bluestreaks had a chance of perhaps winning the game in regulation, but a three-point attempt by Pinter from the left-hand corner bounced off the rim as the buzzer had sounded to send the game into overtime.
In the overtime session, Corbin Chrisman drove the baseline for a layup, giving the Bombers a 51-49 lead.
Pinter nailed his second three-pointer from the top of the key, giving the Bluestreaks a 52-51 lead with 2:46 left.
Edon would surge ahead at 53-52 on a layup by Brigle before Gracia sank three of four free throws, giving Archbold a 55-53 lead with 1:41 remaining.
Gallehue, who led all scorers with 20 points, nailed all four of his free throws for a 57-55 advantage with 1:06 left.
With the Bombers needing an insurance point, they would get it from 6-4 junior foreign exchange student Rafael Gonzalez-Ariza who came off the bench in the overtime period where he connected on one of two free throws with seven seconds remaining giving the Bombers the three-point overtime triumph.
“Raf (Rafael Gonzalez-Ariza) did a great job where we brought him in mainly for defensive purposes,” said the Edon coach.
“He was able to get the big rebound there at the end and was able to split a pair of free throws. That was huge for him in that spot.”
Archbold head coach Joe Frank said his squad came tonight to play a game despite being a rough week following the untimely death of former Bluestreaks cage standout and longtime assistant coach Mike Kennedy.
“I just got done telling our guys, the team that played the hardest, won the game,” said the veteran mentor. “I give Edon all the credit in the world and they were prepared to play.
“In the second half, they really got going offensively, and I thought we got a little bit tentative, and we quit attacking especially on the defensive end. They made the shots, and we had some chances in overtime, but the ball didn’t fall through the hoop.”
Also reaching in double figures for the Bombers were Chrisman with 18 points and Stantz finished with 11 points. They were 19 of 39 for 48% from the floor and 12 of 16 for 75% from the line along with 23 rebounds and 12 turnovers.
Harris led Archbold with 13 points and Gracia added 11 points. The Bluestreaks were 19 of 47 for 40% from the floor and 13 of 16 for 81% from the stripe along with 30 rebounds and eight turnovers.
Both teams return to action on Thursday, January 8. Archbold (6-1) opens up Northwest Ohio Athletic League play at Liberty Center while Edon (6-3) hosts Hilltop in Buckeye Border Conference action.
ARCHBOLD (55) – Gracia 14; Short 0; Krieger 2; Pinter 10; Rufenacht 4; Langenderfer 3; Harris 13; Cline 2; Gericke 7; Totals: 15-4-13 – 55
EDON (58) – Stantz 11; Chrisman 18; Kiess 0; Brigle 8; Gonzalez-Ariza 1; Gallehue 20; Reed 0; Totals: 11-8-12 – 58
AHS 14 9 17 9 6 – 55
EHS 10 8 21 10 9 – 58