Kalida rallies to edge Lincolnview 44-41

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent sports editor

No. 4 seed Kalida made just enough plays in the final period to rally past No. 5 seed Lincolnview 44-41 to win the Division IV lower bracket sectional championship at Van Wert High School on Friday.

An early fourth quarter bucket by Clayton Leeth snapped a 33-33 tie and after a Kalida basket, Collin Overholt, who finished with a team high 14 points, converted a pair of free throws to give the Lancers a 37-35 lead, and with 3:44 left Jake Bowersock’s bucket put Lincolnview ahead 39-38.

However, it was the final time the Lancers enjoyed a lead. A basket by Luke Erhart gave Kalida a 40-39 advantage, then after a steal, Evan Roebke returned a missed shot for a basket to up the lead to 42-39 with 2:40 left.

A late shot by Creed Jessee pulled Lincolnview to within one, 42-41, but Roebke was able to hit two big free throws down the stretch. The Lancers were able to get one final shot off, but it was off the mark. Jessee and Bowersock each scored 10.

“The kids played hard and executed our game plan almost to perfection,” Lincolnview head coach Brett Hammons said. “It was a great defensive effort but unfortunately we didn’t make enough plays on the offensive end of the floor.”

“Give Kalida credit – they’re a very good defensive team and they made things difficult for us,” Hammons added.

Lincolnview shot 13-31 (42 percent) from the floor and 8-12 from the free throw line. The Lancers had 11 turnovers, with eight of those coming in the second half. Kalida was 19-50 (38 percent) shooting and went to the foul line just three times, converting all three. The Wildcats committed just six turnovers and had a 23-20 rebounding advantage.

“Our kids have played extremely hard all year,” Kalida head coach Ryan Stechschulte said. “The second half was another example of how good we can be defensively. We’re super proud of how we battled and made plays at the end.”

After defeating Lincolnview 67-38 on December 27, the Wildcats (16-7) trailed for much of the night.

Overholt knocked down a pair of treys and scored eight points in the first quarter alone and Lincolnview led 14-12 at the end of the period. In the second quarter, Leeth converted a pair of foul shots and hit a basket to boost the lead to 25-21.

A hook shot by Jake Bowersock late in the third quarter gave Lincolnview sa 33-28 advantage, but Ayden Warnecke drilled a triple, then scored off a Lancer turnover to tie the game 33-33.

“Lincolnview is vastly improved from earlier in the year,” Stechschulte said. “They play super hard and were very good tonight. Coach Hammons and his staff are great coaches and great people.”

“Overholt was very good and I thought we did a good job keeping him out of the paint in the second half,” Stechschulte added.

While not the result he was hoping for, Hammons noted he’s excited about the future.

“We have a lot of players returning for our team next year, however, we are losing a key senior in Jonathan Overholt,” Hammons said. “He is a great young man and he was a great kid to coach.”

Scoring summary

Kalida HS 12 9 12 11 – 44
Lincolnview 14 11 8 8 – 41

Kalida: Ayden Warnecke 3-0-8; Zach VonderEmbse 2-0-4; Gabe Hovest 1-0-2; Evan Roebke 6-2-14; Luke Erhart 7-1-16

Lincolnview: Clayton Leeth 2-2-6; Collin Overholt 4-4-14; Daegan Hatfield 0-1-1; Jake Bowersock 5-0-10; Creed Jessee 4-1-10