Celina 60 Wapakoneta 37
By PHIL McLEAN
Wapakoneta Daily News Staff Writer

For the first 15 minutes, the Wapakoneta Redskins challenged the Celina Bulldogs.
For the next 3 minutes and 47 seconds spanning the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half, the Bulldogs ballooned a 25-21 lead to 41-21.
For the rest of the game, the Redskins (0-5, 0-1) played Celina (2-1, 1-0) fairly even, but the damage had been done in as the Bulldogs captured a 60-37 victory in the only game played in opening action of Western Buckeye League play.
“We played 15 good, strong minutes and then we let them go on an 8-0 run over the last minute, minute and a half and a 4-point game ballooned to a 12-point half-time lead,” Wapakoneta varsity boys basketball coach Scott Minnig said. “We talked about making a run early in the second half — unfortunately, they made the run and we didn’t.”
Celina senior center Jake Green took control of the game during the last 1:35 of the first half, scoring on 4-of-5 shots as the Bulldogs forced a couple of turnovers and poor looks at the basket by the Redskins.
After falling behind 23-13 at the 5:19 mark in the second period, the Redskins went on an 8-2 run to pull within four points, 25-21, with 3:46 left before the break. Wapakoneta missed their next seven shots.
Bulldog varsity boys basketball coach Chris Bihn credited his defense for giving Green a lift.
“He hit some big shots there, but I think our defense bumped it up a notch and got some big steals in there,” Bihn said. “He also runs the floor pretty well and got some layups for us.
“We didn’t do anything different than we typically do especially when we are running the floor,” he said. “That is one of the things we wanted to do because they have problems getting back on defense, and we wanted to make them run because I believe we have a deeper bench then they do.”
Prior to Green’s outburst, Celina senior guard Derek Gagle provided most of the damage in the first half, scoring 16 points, hitting 6-of-10 from the floor and 4-of-5 from beyond the 3-point arc. Backcourt mate Jared Bader hit trifectas in the first period and Layne Klosterman hit a bucket in the first period and free throw in the second for all their scoring.
The Redskins scored 21 first half points, with junior guard Jackson Hayzlett leading the way with 7 points with junior guard Kody Kohler and senior post player Jake Lambert scoring 5 points each. The only other buckets were by junior post player Mike Bogan and Jordan Ruppert, each with a basket.
Minnig felt his squad played with great intensity on the defensive end and seemed calmer on the offensive end for most of the first half.
“Before the game, we talked about them believing in themselves, playing as hard as they can, believing in themselves and leaving it all on the floor — no regrets,” Minnig said. “I felt the scoreboard showed that for the first 15 minutes — we competed with them.”
The Redskins would hit 8-of-24, or 33 percent, from the floor in the first half, but Celina hit 13-of-26, or 50 percent, and 63 percent from beyond the 3-point line, hitting 7-of-11.
Bihn had his Bulldogs continue a full-court press and then had his squad trap the ball once it crossed half-court. The pressure forced Wapakoneta into shooting 2-of-10 in the third period. Celina hit 5-of-14, but it was the first couple of minutes in the second half which stemmed any momentum shift.
“We talked about coming out of the half and playing hard the first 3 minutes and we have hammered that with our kids that you have to play hard the first 3 minutes to set the tone of the second half,” Bihn said. “We had them down by 12 at the half and we scored the next 6 or 8 points and we had them down by 18 or 20 points right away. That is a pretty good lead at that point in the game.”
Hayzlett and Bogan provided the only scoring punch in the third period. Kohler heated up in the fourth period, hitting all three of his 3-pointers, coupled with a bucket by Bogan to top off the scoring in the game.
Kohler led Wapakoneta with 14 points, followed by Hayzlett with 10 points. Bogan contributed 6 points and managed 13 unofficial rebounds in the contest — five offensive and eight defensive.
Gagle and Green led Celina with 16 points, with Gagle cleaning the board for eight rebounds — two offensive and six defensive.
The Redskins shot 14-of-46, or 30 percent, for the game, including 8-of-24, or 33 percent, from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs scored on 24-of-53, or 43 percent, from the floor and 9-of-24, or 41.6 percent, from beyond the arc.
The Redskins host the St. Henry Redskins tonight with junior varsity action starting at 6:30 p.m., while Celina plays the Marion Local Flyers.
“St. Henry is a very athletic team, they can shoot the ball well and they have guys who can pound the ball inside and score — they’re good,” Minnig said. “We can compete with them if we play hard for 32 minutes and leave it all on the floor.”


Celina            16 17 12 15 — 60
Wapakoneta 11 10   5 11 — 37


Celina: Jared Bader 3-0-9, Tyler Menchhofer 0-0-0, Layne Klopfenstein 1-1-3, Derek Gagle 6-0-16, Darin Waterman 3-2-10, Adam Carr 1-0-2, Hayden Heiby 0-0-0, Kahle LaRue 0-0-0, Calvin Pontious 0-0-0, Jake Green 8-0-16, Nate Behn 1-0-2, Greg Reimesch 1-0-2. Totals: 24-3-60


Wapakoneta: Tyler Bertram 0-0-0, Jackson Hayzlett 3-1-10, Mike Bogan 3-0-6, Shane Helmstetter 0-0-0, Zane Oen 0-0-0, Corey Lotridge 0-0-0, Kody Kohler 5-0-14, Jacob Lambert 2-0-5, Jordan Ruppert 1-0-2, Justin Steveley 0-0-0, Jacob Heinl 0-0-0, Tommy Georg 0-0-0. Totals: 14-1-37.


3-pointers: Celina 9 (Gagle 4, Bader 3, Waterman 2) Wapakoneta 8 (Kohler 4, Hayzlett 3, Lambert 1)
Fouled out: None
Junior Varsity: Celina 31 (2-1), Wapakoneta 27 (2-3) High scorer for Wapak: Kaleb Vondenhuevel 8 points