By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
METAMORA (February 6, 2025) – ESPN Instant Classic didn’t have a film crew there. Maybe they should have.
After a subpar performance in a loss to Edon three days previous, Evergreen roared back from a 16-point third quarter deficit to swipe a last minute win over Liberty Center, 66-63, before a very large and electric crowd at Evergreen.
The Vikings raised their record to 13-7, 4-2 in NWOAL, and will be the second seed in the Division VI District draw. Liberty Center fell to 8-11 overall and 3-3 in NWOAL.
“Tuesday was kind of a reality check for us,” Viking coach Kyle Bostater said. “We talked about how that game was in the past, it was time to move on and flush that one. Our guys responded the right way. Every time they have been challenged this year, they have responded.”
The Vikes countered a pair of early Tiger triples from Ethan Gray and Isaiah Badenhop with a number of hoops off Liberty turnovers to grab a 14-8 lead.
Troy Manz, John Herdman, George Allendorf and Will Ruetz each were the beneficiaries of steals and scores to give Evergreen the lead.
Liberty Center came back as Gavin Geahlen started a 12-2 run with a pair of buckets inside and Cam Robinson capped it with a long three-ball with 17 seconds left in the first to give the Tigers a 20-16 lead.
While Evergreen went cold early in the second, the Tigers continued their hot shooting.
Blake Garber hit a jumper, Max Walker tripled, Geahlen got in close again and Robinson hit another from outside the arc to blow the game open at 32-18 with 2:44 left in the half.
Manz and Ruetz canned triples in the last 48 seconds to slice that 14-point lead in half, bringing the Vikings back to a single digit deficit at 36-29 at the break.
However, in the third Geahlen got inside again and again, scoring five times in the first five minutes to again open a cavernous gap at 48-32 with 3:16 on the clock.
With the Vikes on the edge of the precipice, their speed gave them a reprieve. Evergreen’s trapping defense caused a massive amount of turnovers, as the Tigers were guilty of 16 in the second half, and nearly all of them in the last 11 minutes.
Manz and Herdman scored off steals, and Ruetz converted yet another into a buzzer-beating jumper that one more time brought Evergreen back to a 50-41 deficit.
Manz did one better, hitting a 25-foot bomb to open the fourth, making it 50-44. Geahlen answered from the block, but that was the last time the 6″6 senior dented the scoring column the rest of the night.
Robinson nailed his third triple of the evening to keep the Tigers up 55-48 with 3:50 to go but again the Vikings retaliated.
It took six seconds for Manz to hit nothing but net from above the top of the key and Allendorf’s 2/2 from the line brought the Vikings even with 3:21 to go.
Gray put the Tigers back on top with a corner three-pointer, and after Quinn Eisel got in tight for a hoop, Robinson hit his fourth from long range putting Liberty up 61-57 at the 2:00 mark.
Herdman got a pair from the line and after one of 10 Tiger fourth quarter turnovers, Allendorf’s hanging bank forged a 61-all tie with 1:14 left.
“There is no secret that our defense leads to our offense,” Bostater explained of the thefts that fueled the Vikings comeback.
“If you look at our scores, people might say ‘well they give up a lot of points sometimes,’ well we also force a whole bunch of turnovers too.”
“That is what really spurs our offense, getting quick transition points. George and Troy did a great job up front and Will Ruetz made some plays at safety. Our pressure was able to give them a lot of problems then our guys capitalized in transition.”
Herdman gave Evergreen a 62-61 lead, hitting 1/2 from the line after a steal, then with the Tigers working for a go-ahead shot, Ruetz got another swipe and fed Eisel for a 64-61 advantage at the 20 second mark.
Liberty Center raced up the floor in an attempt to get a tying triple but another Ruetz theft, and his ensuing 2/2 from the line gave Evergreen a 66-61 lead.
Badenhop recovered a loose ball and drove baseline for a bucket with 3.5 left, but the Vikings fired the ball up court on the inbounds and the clock ran out after a pair of batted balls to grab the win.
“The game tonight felt like tournament basketball,” Bostater expressed of the atmosphere in the arena. “Our crowd was loud and crazy, I loved it. There was a ton of energy in the place and that’s how the games are going to be from here out.”
Evergreen shot 44 percent from the field but hit 15/18 from the line to cover up 19 turnovers. Liberty Center hit 46 percent from the field, a percentage that was much higher from the three-point line but had 28 turnovers.
Manz had 21, Ruetz 17 and Herdman 12 to lead Evergreen. Geahlen had a game high 20, Robinson 12 and Gray 11 for Liberty Center.
LIBERTY CENTER (63) – Garber 4; Miller 4; Gray 11; Badenhop 5; Kruse 4; Wilhelm 0; Robinson 12; Geahlen 20; Walker 3; Totals: 17-8-5 – 63
EVERGREEN (66) – Manz 21; Ruetz 17; Herdman 12; Allendorf 8; Quinten Eisel 8; Fritsch 0; Johnson 0; Totals: 18-5-15 – 66
LCHS 20 16 14 13 – 63
EHS 16 13 14 23 – 66
