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2/14/06

Wynford upended at Upper

By Jeff Smith
Telegraph-Forum correspondent




UPPER SANDUSKY -- The stars shone brightly Monday night, but it was the supporting cast that made the difference.
Jon Diebler led Upper Sandusky with 35 points and 17 rebounds, while Wynford's Joe Kalb didn't disappoint anyone with his 31 points, 10 boards, and five blocked shots.

But the depth of the Rams paid off time and time again as they wore down the Royals 90-71. Upper's 6-foot-6 post man Curtis Sebenoler had his way inside for 13 points and 15 rebounds, and if that wasn't enough for the Royals to contend with, freshman Alex Falk pitched in with 20 points. Toss in guard Aaron Wetherell's 14 points, and the visitors had more Rams to worry about than an county fair livestock judge.


"They're a good team," stated Wynford Coach Tim Ehresman. "They have good players, and Jon (Diebler) is a great player. They move the ball really well. Upper just keeps coming at you."

Kalb's performance was no less of an All-Ohio night than the highly-touted Diebler, as he carried his team on both sides of the court.The Royals' big man stepped up to the challenge withseven field goals, three three-pointers, and eight free throws for his 31 points, and his five blocks and 10 boards showed the crowd his hops. He also guarded Diebler for a portion of the game, and he was the point man to break the Upper press.

"Joe played pretty well tonight," noted Ehresman. "I told Joe to take more shots and get more options, and he did. I was really proud of him."

Upper Coach Keith Diebler was impressed with the Wynford senior, as well.

"Wynford uses Joe a lot like we use Jon. He handles the ball real well and shoots extremely well. We have a lot of respect for Joe Kalb, and we have a lot of respect for the Wynford ball team."

The Rams came out firing from the get-go and took a double-digit lead five minutes into the game at 20-8. They stretched it to 23-8 before Wynford cut it to 25-18 after one period.

And that was the theme of the game. Upper kept the lead throughout, and they stretched their advantage back to double-digits at 29-18 one minute into the second quarter.

The Royals fought valiantly to keep the game respectable, but the Rams flexed their muscle in the first half, especially on the boards. Upper held a 32-13 rebounding edge at halftime with 15 of those caroms being offensive rebounds.

The Royals cut the Rams lead to 12 at 46-34 early in the third quarter on a Corey Black spin move in the paint, but two Upper buckets in a span of 30 seconds made it 50-34, and that was the closest the Royals could manage to get the rest of the game.

Diebler's points were hard to come by from the field, but he more than made up for it at the foul line. He canned 20 of 23 free throws to go along with his six field goals and only one trey.

In fact, the Rams made more free throws than the Royals shot, going26 of 34,while the Royals only made 14 of 22.

Diebler recognized the importance of the non-conference win.

"You know I'm from Crawford County and went to Colonel Crawford, so I know all about Wynford. They are basketball in that area, and they know what winning is all about. I looked up in the stands and saw Jim Bauer and then I saw Rob Sheldon, and I knew what we were facing. We were worried about this game."

Ehresman was philosophical after the contest.

"We didn't come in here with our eyes wide open and in awe of Upper. We came here and my guys played their hearts out. They had fun, and that was what pleased me the most. I would have liked to come out of he re with a win, and if a couple shots would have fallen our way here and there, we might have kept it close and had a shot at the end."

The jayvee Royals of Lee Rowlinson made a valiant fourth-quarter effort only to fall short, losing 53-51. The young Royals trailed 44-33 after three periods and tied the game at 51 on a Brock Coomer bucket, but the JV Rams hit two free throws with 1:13 left and held on for the win. The 6-foot-4 freshman Coomer led all scorers with another strong performance of 21 points.


Originally published February 14, 2006