D7 SECTIONAL FINAL … Edon’s Briggs Gallehue muscles up a shot in the first half.
TOP EAGLE … Zack Whitley, who tallied a team-high 19 points, is surrounded by the Edon defense.
By: John Fryman
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
john@thevillagereporter.com
EDON (February 26, 2026) – Despite an unusual start to tip off the Division VII boys sectional final between Edon and North Central on Thursday, February 26, it was the Bombers who earned their ticket to Thursday’s district semifinal at Bryan High School with a 63-50 victory over the Eagles.
North Central, who bowed out with an 11-12 record under first-year head coach Jalen Dancer, was called for an administrative technical foul before the clock had even started due to an incorrect jersey number in the scorebook.
“We had a miscommunication with our book a little bit as far as a jersey number of one of our starters,” said Dancer.
“We didn’t have enough jerseys this year, so we kind of switched back and forth all year and we just had miscommunication. It was a tough way to come out, and we did struggle out of the gate.”
Edon sent its top free throw shooter, Corbin Chrisman, to the line where he calmly sank two free throws, giving the Bombers a quick 2-0 lead before time had begun.
“We had confidence with Corbin (Chrisman) being our highest percentage free throw shooter, and he was going to step up there to give us a 2-0 lead,” said Edon head coach Matt Ripke.
After North Central’s Aiden Meyers made one of two free throws to close the gap to 2-1, Edon would push it into high gear over the next five-plus minutes.
The Bombers went on an impressive 12-2 run in the first quarter with Chrisman, Briggs Gallehue, Kadin Stantz and Grant Reed all contributing offensively.
“He (Chrisman) made some big perimeter shots; Kadin Stantz hit a big one early in the game,” said Ripke.
“It’s a good thing that our perimeter guys have grown up and matured and taken some of that pressure off our post players.”
Edon led 14-6 after eight minutes of action before North Central’s Zack Whitley opened the second quarter with a layup to pull to within six points, 14-8.
The Bombers would put together another solid offensive run, this one scoring 15 unanswered points and following a pair of free throws by Stantz, they quickly built themselves into a commanding 29-8 lead in a span of four minutes.
“We haven’t had a game for almost ten days,” said the Edon coach. We came out and played fast and then built a big lead. But we were also careless with the ball at times.”
With the Bombers holding onto a decisive double-digit lead in the second half, North Central, who had dug themselves a hole early on, showed some character in the third quarter with Whitley scoring six points in an 11-5 NC run closing the gap to 11 points, 36-23 with 1:53 remaining.
Gallehue then scored on a putback and was fouled, thus converting on a three-point play, followed by two Chrisman buckets for a 43-25 lead after three quarters.
“He (Chrisman) is a great shooter, and we talked about him a lot the last couple of weeks,” said Dancer. “He had a hot start in the game and put us in quite a bit of a hole, and we couldn’t climb out of it.”
North Central got a three-pointer by Jackson Poynter followed by two Whitley buckets and with 7:06 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Eagles got to within 11 points.
A three-pointer and a layup by Poynter gave North Central perhaps a chance to get back in the game trailing by just ten points, 47-37, but Chrisman then drained a wide-open trifecta for the Bombers, thus ending any opportunity for a comeback rally by the Eagles, who had tallied half of its final point total in the final quarter.
“That was the same thing that happened the last time we played here,” said the NC coach. “We dug ourselves a little bit of a hole, and we were able to get over that hump to send it into double overtime.
“Against a good team like that, with good players and a good coach like Matt Ripke, we can’t put ourselves in and expect to climb out of a tournament game. It’s going to be a good learning experience for all of these guys and myself.”
Whitley led North Central with 19 points and Poynter finished with 10 points. The Eagles were 19 of 47 for 40 percent from the floor, but 9 of 19 from the stripe for 47 percent. They grabbed 19 rebounds and committed 14 turnovers.
It also marked the final game for three North Central seniors, Tyler Meyers, Brody Taylor, and Logan Clark. “I actually had tears in my eyes the whole time I talked about these seniors,” said Dancer.
“The way they bought in me as a first-year coach and the way they let me come in and kind of change the culture of wanting to play together and play for each other.
“Those three guys really stood for that. I can’t tell you the things I think they are going to do for life.”
Chrisman led the Bombers (15-8) with 22 points and Gallehue contributed 21 points while Stantz also reached in double figures with 14 points.
Edon connected 20 of 41 shots for 48 percent from the floor and 16 of 22 for 72 percent from the line. They grabbed 34 rebounds and committed 20 turnovers.
Next up for the Bombers is a rematch against Buckeye Border Conference archrival Pettisville (14-9) in district semifinal action on Thursday, March 5 at Bryan High School. The Blackbirds prevailed with a 47-25 conference victory on January 16.
“We got another long week of practice which I know our guys are really looking forward to,” said the Edon coach. “I say that in jest, because they were ready to play tonight. We’ll get prepared and at this time of year now it’s survive and advance.”
NORTH CENTRAL (50) – A. Meyers 1; Taylor 0; Poynter 10; T. Meyers 7; Whitley 19; Fiser 0; Reinbolt 4; St. John 0; Fidler 2; Clark 7; Totals: 16-3-9 – 50
EDON (63) – Stantz 14; Kiess 0; Chrisman 22; Brigle 4; Gonzalez-Ariza 0; Gallehue 21; Reed 2; Totals: 13-7-16-63
NCHS 6 6 13 25 – 50
EHS 14 15 14 20 – 63
For more local news, see High School Sports Schedule For Thursday, March 26, 2026 (WEATHER PERMITTING).