Western outlasts Wynford for tourney win

COLLINS — There is practice tomorrow. When the calendar changed to 2025, there weren't many within and around the Western Reserve basketball team who could confidently say that during tournament season. But the Roughriders put together three key scoring runs and held off visiting Bucyrus Wynford for a 77-72 win in a Division VI sectional semifinal Tuesday night at Western Reserve High School. With the win, the Roughriders — the No. 6 seed in the Ontario district — improved to 9-12 overall. Up next is a trip to No. 5 Mansfield Christian (11-10) at 7 p.m. Friday in a sectional title game. After an overtime loss on Jan. 11 at Huron, Western was just 2-8. Since then, the 'Riders are 7-4 with two of those losses by two points each. "We get an opportunity to compete and have the chance to cut down the net," Western Reserve head coach Chris Sheldon said. "With where we were at 2-8, I'd say we'd sign up for that opportunity. "We're growing and getting better — we just have to quit stubbing our toe like Charlie Brown," he added. "Lately, we've been good enough not to do it as much that we've been able to secure a few more wins on a week-to-week basis." Leading by 14 almost midway through the third quarter, the 'Riders were unable to completely put away the No. 7-seed Royals (4-18). Five quick points by Wynford to start the fourth made it a 56-50 deficit, but things looked safe once Chase Hipp answered a Royals basket with a 3 and Hayden Dobias followed him with two points for a 62-52 lead with 6:12 remaining. Another 3 by Hipp with 4:31 left put Western up 65-54, but again, the Royals made a game of it. Drew Johnson scored twice to pull within 65-58 with 3:37 remaining, then he scored a third straight time after a Tyler Wood basket for Western to keep it within range at 67-60. The Royals then got a turnover and were fouled in the auto f shooting, but missed both free throws. Cooper Roe then buried a right corner 3 for the 'Riders with 2:12 left for a 70-60 lead. From there, the Royals again turned a 10-point deficit with under two minutes left into a 72-67 deficit in a matter of 53 seconds. Johnson made a 3, then Weston Prenger scored off a Western turnover with 51.8 seconds to go. The 'Riders again came up empty on two shots from point blank range, and Wynford was fouled on the rebound attempt. However, with the chance to make it a one-possession game with 44.1 seconds left, the Royals missed both free throws. It then became a fouling situation, and Hipp made four straight free throws at 31 seconds and with 21.4 seconds left to seal it. On a night where Sheldon — a Wynford graduate — thought his team could control the paint, the 'Riders got just six combined points from posts Hayden Keith and Brexton Fraelich. The pair combine to average 14.5 points per game. Instead, Tyler Cooper had 15 points down low himself. Dobias added 10 points off the bench along with four assists. Hipp led the team with 19 points. "When you try to play nine guys, that's hard in high school," Sheldon said. "There are only so many minutes available, so we tell them to have a positive mindset and take advantage of the minutes you get. Don't worry when you're going out or back in. "The guys who make the most of it tend to see those minutes grow. But those other guys stepped up and made plays and really helped us be more balanced and carry the load when a couple of our other mainstays weren't." The first half saw the Roughriders get key rebound putback baskets from Cooper. Western led 16-13 after one quarter, as it rallied back from a 10-4 deficit to close the final two-plus minutes on a 12-3 scoring run. Cooper started the run with two free throws, then Dobias added a 3-pointer at the 1:53 mark. Cooper than gave Western its first lead on a basket with 1:26 left in the quarter at 11-10. Tied at 13, Roe then buried a 3 with just 2.6 seconds left in the quarter for the lead. Western then appeared to be distancing itself from the Royals with a 12-0 run in the second quarter to go up 32-18. Cooper scored again to start the run, then Evan Goodwin scored — and added two free throws on technical foul on Wynford for a 27-18 lead with 5:22 left in the half. Goodwin then scored again for the 'Riders, and Caleb Pausch capped the run with a basket to make it 31-18 with 4:46 left in the half. But back came the Royals. Western turned the ball over three straight times, which in turn allowed the Royals to close within 31-28 with a 10-0 scoring run of their own. However, Western righted the ship. Tyler Wood made two free throws with 1:49 left in the half, then Cooper scored on a rebound off a missed shot — then was fouled and split the two free throws on the next trip down the floor. Up 37-31, Cooper then found a rebound off a missed shot for a basket from close-range with just 1.8 seconds left in the half for a 39-31 advantage. Sheldon is excited to have more gym time with his team that has no seniors on the roster. "Regardless of how hard or up and down our season has been at times, our kids continue to show up and want to be coached and try to learn," he said. "Our learning curve isn't quite as fast as I'd hope it would be on a daily basis, but our spirit to show up and compete is." BUCYRUS WYNFORD (4-18) Drew Stanek 7-4—21; Dawson Pelter 1-3—6; Weston Prenger 8-1—20; Gavin Koehler 1-0—3; Jaxon Vance 1-0—2; R. Johnson 2-0—4; Drew Johnson 5-4—16. TOTALS 25-12—72. WESTERN RESERVE (9-12) Chase Hipp 3-11—19; Tyler Cooper 6-3—15; Hayden Dobias 4-0—10; Caleb Pausch 4-0—8; Cooper Roe 2-1—7; Hayden Keith 3-0—6; Tyler Wood 2-2—6; Evan Goodwin 2-2—6. TOTALS 26-19—77. B. Wynford 13 18 15 26 — 72 W. Reserve 16 23 17 21 — 77 3-point FGs: (WY) Prenger 4, Stanek 3, Johnson 2, Pelter, Koehler