FULTON COUNTY FOES … Evergreen’s George Allendorf takes a jumper during the Vikings’ 51-50 win at Delta. VIEW 165 PHOTOS OF THIS CONTEST FOR FREE AT WWW.THEVILLAGEREPORTER.COM
PANTHER LEADING SCORER … Delta’s Tyson Bower works down the middle of the lane between Evergreen defenders.
By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
DELTA (January 28, 2025) – The Seventh Commandment states “Thou shall not steal.” In that case Kyle Bostater and his Evergreen Vikings are lined up at the confessional.
That is because on a night when the Vikings shot poorly and rebounded even worse, Bostater’s Vikes ripped off the basketball 14 times and literally stole a 51-50 win over Delta. The Vikings, who forced 25 turnovers in all, are now 11-6 on the year and 2-2 in the NWOAL.
“There is no secret that it seems like 90 percent of our offense is based off turnovers and getting the ball out in transition,” Bostater said.
“Delta did a very good job in the first half. They kept us from getting in transition, their defense got set the entire night. Kudos to them, their defense was very, very good.”
The afore mentioned poor shooting was an immediate factor, as the Vikings were just 1/13 from the floor in the opening quarter. However, the Panthers could only take a 6-3 lead because of eight turnovers.
Tyson Bower’s power move and a Kade Lintermoot putback kept the Delta lead doubled at 10-5. Wil Ruetz capped a six-point Viking run with a layup to give Evergreen their first lead at 11-10 and began a string of seven lead changes the rest of the half.
Troy Manz’s triple with 1:03 left put the Vikes up 21-20 but a Vincent Martinez drive and Alex York’s score off the offensive glass gave Delta a 24-21 halftime lead.
Midway through the third, holding a 26-25 lead, Delta blew the game open scoring eight straight. Brady Morr stuck a foul line jumper, Martinez found Wyatt Gibbons for a layup, then Gibbons hit York for an easy on to make it 32-25.
Morr scooped up a loose ball out of scrum for a lay-in and it looked like school was out as Delta led 34-25 with under three to go.
Ruetz scored twice, but Bower hit a triple to keep the Panthers up 37-29. Morr’s baseline force at the buzzer kept the Panthers ahead 39-33 entering the fourth, but Bostater’s band of thieves soon would creep to the forefront.
George Allendorf’s step through move and Manz’s score off his own miss helped get Evergreen within 39-38. Bower’s putback gave Delta a 41-38 lead but Herdman bagged a wing triple to knot the game with 5:00 left. A minute later, Manz’ steal and score gave Evergreen a 43-41 lead.
Bower scored six straight Panther points, including 2/2 from the stripe with 1:01 left to regain a 47-45 Delta advantage and after an Evergreen miscue, Delta seemed to have the game in control.
Just that quick, the Vikings stole it away. Herdman ripped away a loose ball and went solo for what turned into a three-point play that gave Evergreen a 48-47 lead with 31.8 on the clock.
“We went zone there at the end and had some guys flying around,” Bostater explained of the game changing play.
“John got into a passing lane. One of the coaches from Archbold last week said something about where ‘it doesn’t look like there is an Evergreen guy there and then all of a sudden there is somebody standing in a passing lane’, so I give our guys credit at the top of that zone and John finished in transition.” “Seniors make big plays like that.”
Manz’s steal on the next possession led to Will Johnson splitting two from the line that made it 49-47. One last Delta turnover led to Manz hitting both ends from the stripe with 9.6 to make it an insurmountable 51-47 margin.
Evergreen shot just 34 percent on the night but committed only 11 turnovers. The Panthers grabbed a whopping 15 offensive rebounds, as they out boarded the Vikings 36-28.
Manz led the Vikings scoring with 17 points. “Troy is our silent assassin,” Bostater expressed. “And what I mean by that is he is always making plays.”
“He leads our team in deflections, he leads our team in steals. He might be leading our team in rebounding after tonight, he finds a way, he’s always active.”
Ruetz had 13 and Herdman added 11 for Evergreen. Bower scored 17 for Delta and York added 11 for the Panthers (8-9, 2-2 NWOAL).
EVERGREEN (51) – Manz 17; Ruetz 13; Herdman 11; Robertson 0; Allendorf 2; Eisel 0; Fritsch 2; Johnson 6; Totals: 16-4-7 – 51
DELTA (50) – Martinez 4; Alig 0; Bower 17; Gibbons 4; Morr 8; York 11; Lintermoot 2; Hallett 4; Brasher 0; Totals: 18-2-8 – 50
EHS 3 18 12 18 – 51
DHS 6 18 15 11 – 50
Junior Varsity: Evergreen, 41-38
