The top two teams in our C1 coaches poll faced off at Ashland-Greenwood on Tuesday night, and the No. 1 Bluejays rallied for a 63-54 overtime victory over No. 2 Wahoo in front of a capacity crowd.
Story of the Game
Thigs didn’t look good early for Ashland-Greenwood. The Bluejays scored four points in the first quarter. They trailed by 14 midway through the second before heading back to the locker room down 24-14. Wahoo hit as many 3s as Ashland-Greenwood had field goals in the first half (five of each).
Whatever Coach Jacob Mohs said at halftime seemed to strike a chord. The Bluejays put up 20 points in the third to pull within one, and the teams went back and forth throughout the fourth. Tied at 52-all with just under a minute to play, Wahoo attempted to hold for one shot, but as the seconds were winding down Dylan Simons ran off a screen along the baseline and went out of bounds, then received a pass.
Per a change to NFHS rules this year, if a player intentionally goes out of bounds he can’t be the next person to touch the ball. That’s what happened on the play, so the official whistled it dead with 2.5 to play and awarded the ball to Ashland-Greenwood. The Bluejays’ heave at the buzzer didn’t go down, sending the game to overtime.
On the first possession, Simons stole the ball and took it the other way for a layup to put the Warriors back in front. However, they never scored again.
Ashland-Greenwood outscored Wahoo 11-0 the rest of thew way, forcing five straight misses plus two turnovers with an empty trip to the foul line mixed in. The Bluejays scored on six of their last eight possessions to secure the victory.
“That kind of summarizes the game, just responding from those bad plays,” Mohs said. “I think once we got in an offensive rhythm, which we started to do in the third quarter, they couldn’t get us out of it. I thought our defense was consistent the entire game; they had 24 points at half and they’re a great offensive team, so we felt good about that. We felt if our offense could come around — get some buckets, finish in the lane, get to the free-throw line — that we might give ourselves a chance. We just didn’t expect to jump right back in it in the third. That got our crowd involved and created an amazing atmosphere.”
Ashland-Greenwood shot 17-of-25 from the field including 4-of-7 from 3 and 11-of-18 from the foul line with just four turnovers after halftime, totaling 49 points in 20 minutes after mustering just 14 in the first 16.
Coach Speak
“That’s a huge win for us,” Mohs said. “It’s kind of the first true test we’ve had with this group, so to get down early and respond and sneak it out at the end is even more important than just coming here and blowing them out because we needed a game like that where things didn’t go our way and where we had to respond and face adversity and do that stuff. They’re a great team and we’re going to probably see them again.”
Standout Performers
The one who triggered Ashland-Greenwood’s offensive turnaround in the third quarter was sophomore Derek Tonjes. The 6-foot-5 forward scored just two points in the first half, missing all three of his shots around the basket and only scoring from the foul line. He only missed two more shots the rest of the game, finishing with 26 points on 8-of-13 shooting (2-of-2 from 3) and 8-of-12 from the line with 10 rebounds (four offensive) and two blocks. He’s a tough matchup with his ability to handle the ball at his size and get downhill, and he’s crafty in the post and around the rim as well.
Mohs said the key to Tonjes’ monster second half was playing stronger.
“He’s certainly a great player and he’s learning as we go in these types of games and environments as a high school player,” Mohs said. “Being under control, playing his speed, playing his pace, sticking to his strengths and being strong are things he’s figuring out and he’ll continue to figure out as we go throughout the season.”
Senior Dane Jacobsen added 14 points on 6-of-11 shooting (2-of-4 from 3) and four steals. Senior Dawson Thies made some big plays as well, finishing with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting including a big 3 in overtime plus five boards and two blocks.
Senior Marcus Glock led the Warriors with 17 points, but it took him 16 shots and eight free throws to get there. Senior Drake Zimmerman was the primary defender and made Glock work incredibly hard for everything he got, and Jacobsen took turns on him as well and maintained the defensive pressure.
Glock took over in the fourth quarter, scoring 11 points on a variety of incredibly difficult shots and strong moves, but he didn’t score in overtime.
“You have to do the best you can,” Mohs said. “He’s such a great player offensively. He’s one of the tougher guards we’ve seen in a long time as far as individually. They definitely have other scorers and players that are capable of scoring, but you have to be able to slow him down or he’s going to get 30. Those two guys did a great job. Drake was phenomenal; got himself in foul trouble, which wasn’t a surprise. Marcus is good at drawing fouls. And so then Dane came over and Dane, after a little bit of struggles in the post there Dane did a really good job as well.”
Seniors Keegan Brigham and Barrett Lavaley provided a big spark off the Wahoo bench, combining for 20 points and 6-of-9 shooting from deep, but it wasn’t enough.
