PETTISVILLE SENIOR … Jack Leppelmeier scores inside as part of his 26-point performance as Pettisville fell 49-47 in double-overtime to Kalida.
PHOTOS BY JACOB KESSLER / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
LOW POST OFFENSE … Pettisville’s Ryan Bishop muscles up a shot inside in Tuesday’s regional semifinal against Kalida. VIEW 136 PHOTOS OF THIS CONTEST FOR FREE AT WWW.THEVILLAGEREPORTER.COM
By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
The third time was the charm for Kalida. The Wildcats missed late go-ahead shots at the end of regulation and the first overtime.
But on the third try at a game-winner, Owen Grime nailed a turnaround jumper with 5.6 seconds to go in the second extra session to push the Wildcats past Pettisville, 49-47 in a Division VII regional semifinal at Bowling Green State University.
Grime’s basket was the climax of an 11-point Wildcat rally that began at the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter.
Up to that point, it was the Blackbirds who rebounded from a five-point first quarter deficit to take command.
Kalida hit a trio of first stanza three-pointers, including one from Gavin Leis in the last two seconds of the quarter that gave the Wildcats a 15-10 lead.
Logan Kerner’s three-ball at the 6:41 mark of the second expanded the gap to 18-10. Then as he had done the entire Pettisville tournament run, Jack Leppelmeier did “Jack things” to bring the Blackbirds back.
Leppelmeier hit a bomb from the left wing, scored on a drive, then put in an acrobatic pump-and-scoop toss to bring Pettisville within 18-17.
Cody Recker’s bucket gave Kalida a three-point lead but Leppelmeier hit three in a row from the foul line after being hammered while shooting a three-ball to knot the game with 2:08 left.
With 1:31 left in the half, Ryan Bishop scored on a fourth-chance rebound to put Pettisville up for the first time.
Grime answered with a triple to regain a Kalida advantage but Bishop scored on a feed from Creighton Aeschliman to give the Blackbirds a 24-23 halftime lead.
The teams went back-and-forth the first three minutes of the second half, then with the Birds holding a 29-27 lead, Pettisville rang up the last nine points of the quarter to take control.
Aeschliman’s baseline flip, then a third try on the offensive glass made it 33-27. Leppelmeier followed with a three-point play and a flying floater with 33 seconds to go to give Pettisville a 38-27 bulge going into the fourth.
Leppelmeier fed Graycen Osterday for a bucket with 5:17 on the clock to maintain that 11-point margin but Kalida countered.
To that point Pettisville had just two turnovers in the game. Kalida’s trapping defense up high created five in the last five minutes of the game, and the Wildcats capitalized again and again.
Leis started an 11-0 run with a turnaround jumper. Recker and Leis then each hit three-pointers after Blackbird miscues to chop the margin to 40-37.
Leis then turned a third turnover into a three-point play to knot the game at 40-all with 3:12 left.
Leppelmeier regained a Pettisville lead, scoring off a Wildcat turnover with 2:48 to go but Grime got a bucket off a Blackbird turnover to put Kalida even with two minutes left.
Leppelmeier missed from the middle of the key with 1:18 to go and Kalida sat on it for the last shot. Grime took a jumper from the left side with under five seconds left, but it spun out to force an extra session.
Paul Stechschulte and Jaxon Hoffman worked the hi-lo game twice with each scoring inside to put the Wildcats up 46-44.
Kerner’s split at the foul line kept Pettisville within a possession and Leppelmeier found Osterday alone in the corner for a triple to forge a 47-all tie with 47 seconds left.
Again Kalida sat for the last shot. This time with time running out, Leis had to force a triple that was offline to bring up a second overtime.
After a Pettisville miss in the first minute, the Wildcats again held the ball, this time for the rest of the second extra stanza.
With 5.6 on the clock, Grime drilled a turnaround from the left side of the foul line to put the Wildcats ahead. Pettisville advanced the ball to midcourt, and called a timeout with 3.0 left.
Leppelmeier got the inbound, circling to the left outside the three-point line but the Wildcats didn’t let him get a clean look and his last second attempt was short.
Leppelmeier led all scorers with 26 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Osterday added 10 for Pettisville. Leis had 14 and Grime 13 for Kalida (15-11).
Pettisville finishes the season at 16-10 after winning its first district title since 1998.
KALIDA (49) – Kahle 2; Grime 13; Kerner 7; Vorst 2; Hoffman 2; Recker 5; Stechschulte 4; Leis 14; Remlinger 0; Totals 12-7-4 – 49
PETTISVILLE (47) – Leppelmeier 26; Galvin 3; Aeschliman 4; Osterday 10; Bishop 4; Hoylman 0; Totals 14-4-7 – 47
KHS 15 8 4 15 5 2 – 49
PHS 10 14 14 4 5 0 – 47