8-0 run in 4th lifts Stockaders by rival Senecas

OLD FORT – For stretches of the season to this point, Old Fort has struggled to take care of the ball, costing the Stockaders some games. While rival Calvert got to within 38-36 with 5:17 remaining in the contest Tuesday night, coach Eric Hoover called a timeout to settle his guys down. Turnovers were an issue for much of the game (18 total), but after the timeout, the Stockaders went on a key 8-0 spurt as Brock Hull made a layup and then Grant Havens and Dimitri Carter knocked down consecutive 3-pointers to give the Stockaders some breathing room – and eventually a 54-46 SBC River win."We've been struggling to take care of the ball recently, which costed us two games last weekend … and it's like fresh in their mind, so as soon as (Calvert) got to within two I called a timeout to calm them down. I didn't want them thinking, 'Hey, here we go again,'" Hoover said. "We just needed to relax and run our offense, but we haven't really had much time to practice and fix those things because we've played so many games in a row. "I felt like we left a lot of opportunities out there. We had a lot of turnovers in the first quarter (8 turnovers), I hate to use excuses like distractions (Homecoming), but we settled in after that quarter and we pushed the lead. We have to clean some things up and we have to take advantage of things too and cash in on opportunities."For much of the game, it felt like Old Fort (11-6, 9-2 SBC River) was in control as it led the whole time, but Calvert (9-6, 5-4) was always within striking distance. The Stockaders led 8-4 after the first stop and the pushed the lead to 18-8 with a 10-4 run to begin the second frame. But then Calvert junior Vincenzo Lyons got going. The crafty forward started taking over in the paint with eight of his game-high 19 points in the quarter to keep Calvert within 22-16 at the half.The key adjustment for the Senecas was putting Grady Otterbacher at the foul line and having him draw the defense in and then dish to Lyons down low. The Senecas had much success with it."I thought with Grady being in the high post he was able to draw the defense and then Vinny was wide open on a lot of those," Calvert coach Jon Otterbacher said. "On a lot of those scores he had inside, they were quick dump downs to him where he's able to use his body … he's a crafty veteran down there. "He's not overly-skilled, not overly-athletic per say, but he knows how to score and he's an old-man, open-gym type of guy that will try to knock you down on a cut and take away everything he can. He did a nice job around the rim."Calvert got to within 30-27 with 9.1 ticks left in the third after a Logan DeMoss layup, but then Carter sprinted down to the other end of the court to get a shot up before the buzzer sounded. After a pump fake to get a defender in the air and by him, Carter splashed a buzzer-beating triple to give Old Fort a 33-27 edge.Then Otterbacher nailed a trey in rhythm to get the Senecas to within 38-36 before the Old Fort run to end things."I think we lost the game early on by missing some easy layups and then when you get to a point where you're down exerting a lot of energy to get back in it, I think our legs were a bit tired there in the fourth quarter," Otterbacher said. "We did do a good job of boxing out, but I was happy and proud of the team for how we battled to get within two there."DeMoss and Max Herbert both scored eight points for the Senecas, while Logan Ritzler was held to seven.Isaac Gallagher – the Homecoming King – led the Stockaders with a monster double-double of 14 points and 18 rebounds, with five assists as well. Henry Beisner tallied 11 points and eight rebounds, Havens added 10 points, Hull ended with nine points and Carter finished with eight points."Still a lot of things we have to work on going forward … we're working toward the tournament now," Hoover said. Old Fort 54, Calvert 46Calvert (9-6, 5-4 SBC River): Grady Otterbacher 1-0-3; Logan Ritzler 3-0-7; Emman Moreno 0-1-1; Max Herbert 3-2-8; Tucker Coleman 0-0-0; Logan DeMoss 4-0-8; Ethan Baugher 0-0-0; Vincenzo Lyons 9-0-19. Totals: 20-3-46.Old Fort (11-6, 9-2): Isaac Gallagher 6-2-14; Brock Hull 4-0-9; Andrew Tackett 1-0-2; Grant Havens 3-3-10; Dimitri Carter 2-2-8; Henry Beisner 4-3-11. Totals: 20-10-54.Calvert&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;4&emsp;&emsp;12&emsp;&emsp;11&emsp;&emsp;19&emsp;&emsp;– 46Old Fort&emsp;&emsp;8&emsp;&emsp;14&emsp;&emsp;11&emsp;&emsp;21&emsp;&emsp;– 543-point goals: Calvert 3-20 (Otterbacher, Ritzler, Lyons); Old Fort 4-10 (Carter 2, Hull, Havens)Foul shots: Calvert 3-3; Old Fort 10-18Rebounds: Calvert 20 (Lyons 6); Old Fort 28 (Gallagher 18)Turnovers: Calvert 9; Old Fort 18