Cagers Outlast Warsaw
Jan 6, 2023—Sterling, OH
On a night when the basket seemed to be covered, the Cagers found a way to beat the Warsaw Warriors 38-37. Jason Moore’s putback and ensuing free throws iced the game for the hometown team. The game was nonetheless a bloodbath and the officials let these teams duke it out for 32 minutes.
The Cagers, as has been their custom all year long, got off to a sluggish start and found themselves down early in the first quarter. As a precursor to how the entire evening would go, the Cagers would not be able to find any offensive rhythm. Had it not been for Mark Gal, the quick starting Cager point guard’s five points in the frame, the deficit might have been worse. Warsaw, on the other hand, found it early and often and raced out to a 17-10 lead at the end of the first 8 minutes.
The second quarter was much the same as the Cagers just could not get it going. “I don’t know if it was the long layoff over Christmas or what but we couldn’t throw it in the ocean from the beach. Luckily, we got in the bonus early, got some points at the free throw line, and our defense stepped up big time,” said Cager bench boss Doug Hamsher. And that it did. The game was a hack city affair and the Cagers used that to their advantage driving to the hoop and getting fouled. The Cagers would can 5 of 7 from the stripe in the quarter. Add to that buckets by Eli Stanley, Ethan Brede, and Ruben Belodedici and the Cagers outscored the Warriors by one in the frame. The defensive end is where the Cagers started to shine and that carried over to the second half. At intermission, Warsaw held a 26-21 lead.
The third quarter was not an offensive output by any stretch of the imagination. Both teams played a sloppy brand of basketball. Defensively, the Cagers were outstanding holding the Warriors to 5 points. That kept the game in striking distance as the Cagers would only muster a measly field goal by senior Eli Stanley. “It was ugly, but we found a way to stay in a position to win with our defense,” said Hamsher. That defense would set the stage for an entertaining 4thquarter, where the fans would get their money’s worth. And the end of three, Warriors 31-23.
Down 8 with 8 minutes to go is not an insurmountable obstacle, however, with the way the offense was puttering along, it sure seemed that way mid-way through the frame. Warsaw would add a FT and the Cagers would answer with a bucket from Belodedici. A timeout was called. That’s when things started to get interesting. Hamsher took the 60-second timeout to relay the message that this was a great situation to be in. Down 7 with 4 minutes and change remaining was a good time for this team to have fun competing and to show up for the near capacity crowd in attendance. “I told the guys that our defense was outstanding and all we had to do was put the ball in the hole and were gonna win this game!” Out of the timeout, Warsaw would hit a three pointer. But from that point on, it was methodical as the Cagers would get a bucket by Moore to cut the lead to 8. A defensive stop and the Cagers found Gal wide open on the right side of the key. He buried it! Another defensive stop. The Cagers ensuing possession would end up with Stanley wide open in the left corner for a 3-pointer. He nailed it! The crowd was in a frenzy as the Cagers cut a 10-point deficit to three at 35-32. Yet again another defensive stop and Moore would find the rim to get within 1. All of the momentum was on the Cagers’ side. Time was winding down with just under 30 seconds to go. The Cagers needed a stop. And they got one! That led to a put back by Moore with just under 17 seconds to go to give the Cagers their first lead of the game. Gal forced a tie up at the other end to give possession to the Cagers! After some theatrics where a Warsaw fan was removed from the game, Moore went to the line to shoot the double bonus with 7 seconds remaining and the Cagers holding to a 36-35 lead. He missed the first. He missed the second, but Senior Jay Hanzie out worked his opponent for the rebound and kicked it out to Moore with 5 seconds to play. He was fouled and calmly sank both foul shots to ice the game. Warsaw would hit a layup, but it was too little to late as the Cagers found a way to outlast Warsaw 38-37, “What a comeback!” exclaimed Hamsher. “We found a way to pull that one out. That was fun!” For the game, Stanley led the Cagers with 12 points, Moore had 8, Gal had 7, Belodedici had 5, Hanzie had 4, and Brede rounded out the scoring column with 2.
