PIQUA – Franklin Monroe and Fort Loramie battled hard in a game that wasn’t decided till the waning moments as the Jets made the plays and free throws late to take down the Redskins 38-32 to win their first District Championship since 2011.
It was a game that saw 7 lead changes and 6 ties with Fort Loramie leading the first (9-8), second (16-12) and third quarter (27-24). They gained the lead in the first and third quarter on buzzer beating three-point plays.
The Jets however prevented a final buzzer beater by making enough free throws late to lead the most important quarter as time expired 38-32.
Scoring was at a premium in the opening frame with the Redskins scoring first at the five-minute mark going up 4-0 before the Jets got on the board on a triple from senior guard Eric Brenner at 4:34.
Eric fired in a second three ball a minute later for a 6-4 lead … but Loramie answered off a second chance rebound to tie the game at six.
Senior forward Trey Wilson’s left-handed hook made it 8-6 only to see the Redskins get multiple chances to score on their last possession of the opening quarter – the third time charm was a three-point buzzer beater giving Ft. Loramie a 9-8 lead.
They road that momentum and expanded their lead to 16-8 by the 2:32 mark of the second quarter.
The Jets Eric Brenner picked up his second foul late in the first quarter and the Fort held Franklin Monroe scoreless for much of the quarter and coach Troy Myers could ill afford to let him sit any longer.
He took the risk of putting him back in the game and it paid dividends immediately as he scored on a drive to the rim … but he also went down hard on a blocking foul in the process.
Brenner ended the scoring drought … but it came at a cost.
“The fall hurt my right hand when #30 tried to take a charge, then I tried to catch myself to prevent landing on my face and now my thumbs pretty messed up,” Eric would say regarding the play.
Already playing with an aggravated left hand that he missed games during the regular season, now he would have to deal with pain in his shooting hand as well.
In typical Shelby County League fashion defense was on display as the first half grind favored Fort Loramie for a 16-12 lead at the break
It also left questions for Franklin Monroe on where their offense would come from in the second half with Brenner now having both hands ailing.
That answer came just seconds into the third quarter with EB fall penetrating into the lane and rising up over his defender for a bucket. He followed that up moments later with another fielder and the offense had a different feel than it did in the 1st half.
“I knew with Eric hurting I had to step up and coach wanted us to drive and kick. Their big guy could not guard me, so I had to go do the job and if I could get my feet in the paint good things would happen,” EB Fall stated.
After two straight paint scores Fall kicked the ball and Lucas Brenner connected on a corner triple to give the Jets a 19-18 lead at the five-minute mark.
“They put some covers on things that we were trying to do, and I thought EB’s first possession, when he went right to the rack, set the tone, and he did exactly what we asked him to do, he was a difference maker in the second half,” coach Myers said.
Fall continued to score in the third quarter, nine points in total to infuse much needed offense … but with the score tied at 24, the Redskins, Barhorst sent a dagger from deep at the horn for a 27-24 advantage heading into the final stanza.
Despite doubling up their first half offense in the 3rd quarter the Jets still trailed and needed to lock down on defense and minimize the 2nd and 3rd chances Loramie got off the boards.
Senior forward Trey Wilson would play a big role in helping minimize those 2nd efforts and defended the basket hard in the final period drawing praise from coach Myers.
“Trey was tremendous. He was just physical, everybody knows what he is, and tonight, the way the game went, he needed be on the floor … but that is the beauty of our team, guys being selfless, and when it’s their time to go to work, they go to work,” Myers expressed.
Franklin Monroe’s Lucas Brenner and Fall started the final quarter making two free throws each, then Fall scored at the rim thrusting the Jets in front again 30-27.
The Skins Max Mauer tied it back up quickly at 30 on triple at 6:20.
The ‘back n forth’ plays in the game had fans from both sides of the gym engaged and a roller coaster of emotions.
Fall and Gasson of Loramie kept each sides hopes alive trading buckets and still anyone’s game with three minutes to play, tied at 32.
EB Fall ended the stalemate for the last time on free throw after being fouled on a drive down the lane to go up 33-32.
A defensive stop and rebound by Wilson led to an outlet pass to Blake Riffle. Riffle who turned in a solid defensive performance picked up the 5th Ft. Loramie foul in the quarter and it proved big. He went to the line making two throws to go up 35-32 with 1:16 remaining in the game.
The perimeter defense by the Jets was good down the stretch as Loramie shot two airballs under duress on back-to-back possessions, each resulting in fouls to send FM to the free throw line.
EB Fall canned two charity tosses and Blake Riffle added one more to close out the game for the 38-32 win.
“Fort Loramie, they are battle tested. And it showed, anytime we took the lead, they took it right back and we were thankful to get a lead there late in the game, so we could spread the floor and get to the line, and we made enough free throws to get the win,” coach Troy Myers said after the game.
Myers was happy for his team and to see their hard work rewarded with a District Championship, the first since 2011.
“I’m just so happy and proud for our team. I mean, honestly, I just think it’s fruit to a lot of labor that’s been put in, you know. The secret’s not a secret … it’s just whether or not you can be tough enough and endure enough to go through all the long hours and the hardships and keep your faith in hopes that you’ll put yourself in a position where all that labor will pay off and I think that’s what you saw tonight,” Myers said.
Myers talked about his senior leaders being big in the moment.
“We talked beforehand, like just have ‘Poise in the Noise’, and you expect your experienced guys to do that. And they (Eric Brenner and EB Fall) both stepped up in a major way,” Myers said. “I give our other guys credit for stepping up to the line, making free throws as well,” Myers added.
For two senior leaders Eric Brenner and EB Fall it was a dream come true to experience winning a District Championship.
“It’s so surreal, we’ve been talking about this since seventh, eighth grade and now it’s so unbelievable, we did it,” Eric Brenner said.
“I feel like all the hard work going to ‘early bird’ morning workouts, we’ve been talking about it all summer, all this stuff led us here. I feel like we showed up and performed very well and I’m proud of all the guys, our whole team, all of them did a great job,” EB Fall added.
The win meant a lot to Franklin Monroe boys’ basketball, but it also meant so much more to the school and community – that support was on display in a sea of blue and white, fans and students alike all vested in the game which didn’t go unnoticed by coach Myers.
“I mean, I’ve been around the community for a long time, growing up and staffing. When you give these fans something to cheer about, they’re going to come. And the longer you go, the more you get. They were they were fantastic tonight and we’re super thankful for our community,” Myers concluded.
Franklin Monroe advances to the regional semi-finals where they will take on the winner of Botkins vs Jackson Center on March 5th at Vandalia Butler High School at 8pm.
Box Scores:
Score by Quarters
FM … 08 … 04 …12 … 14 – 38
FL ….09 … 07 … 11 … 05 – 32
Team Scoring
FM: L. Brenner 1-0-2/4 – 5, E. Brenner 2-1-0/0 – 8, B. Riffle 0-0-3/3 – 3, Wilson 0-1-0/0 – 2,
Fall 1-5-7/10 – 20, Total 4-7-12/18 – 38
FL: Barhorst 1-1-3/4 – 8, Maurer 0-2-1/2 – 7, Heitkamp 0-1-0/0 – 2, Drees 1-2-2/2 – 9
Gasson 0-3-0/0 – 6, Totals 4-7-6/8 – 32
