Upper Sandusky Rams (Upper Sandusky, OH)

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

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2/19/06

Dry spell does in Columbian

By Dave Feltner, dfeltner@advertiser-tribune.com


UPPER SANDUSKY - The way Columbian and Upper Sandusky scored points in their Jan. 13 matchup, - as if they were getting paid to do it - and the way the rematch started Friday night, the drought the Tornadoes labored through in the third quarter defies logic.

But it definitely happened, and it definitely opened the door to the Rams' 84-73 Northern Ohio League victory at The Barn.


These two teams combined for 205 points the first go-around, and Upper Sandusky's Jon Diebler and Columbian's Josh Moore set school records with 77 and 52 points, respectively.

It seemed as if the refresh icon on the record book would need another click after Moore, who matched Diebler with 35 points, poured in 17 first-quarter points while the Tornadoes built a 23-21 lead.

The frantic pace continued in the second quarter, and the Rams had a 43-39 halftime lead while Moore sat the entire period with two fouls.

Ironically, when Moore returned, the Tornadoes dug themselves a hole by scoring only four points the first six minutes of the third quarter.
By the time Brady Decker scooped in a bucket off a drive through traffic with two minutes left in the third, the Tornadoes had 59-45 deficit.

"Don't know what happened," Columbian coach Derek Lewis said. "We looked our kids in the face during [third-quarter] timeout, and they kind of had a blank look in their face. And that's not like our team. We talked about that, and I thought they did a great job responding.

"I don't know, but that's the tale of the game right there, other than Josh being in foul trouble. But our kids did a good job hanging in there. I do not know what happened in the third quarter. We got complacent, and we made turnovers we don't normally make."

Eight in the third quarter, to be exact. And the Rams were there to make the Tornadoes pay.

Diebler opened the second-half scoring with a pair of free throws - the Rams made 11-of-13 freebies in the third - and freshman Alex Falk stuck a 15-footer for a 47-39 lead.

After Decker's hoop made it 59-45, the Rams scored seven unanswered points, capped by Aaron Wetherell's 3-ball off an inbound play, to open a 21-point lead, 66-45.

A late Columbian flurry in the third, which Moore punctuated with a running 3-pointer at the buzzer, had the Tornadoes within 68-52 at the start of the fourth.

"We came out [in the third quarter] and just played tremendous man-to-man defense," Upper Sandusky coach Keith Diebler said. "We decided to junk the other stuff and try to stay solid on them, make them shoot the ball from the outside and rebound. I thought mission was accomplished."

The Tornadoes chipped away in the fourth quarter and got within 77-68 when Moore hit a pair of free throws with 2:16 left after the Rams' Kevin Brodman called a timeout his team did not have.

Columbian, though, got no closer, and Upper Sandusky had enough free-throw shooting (7 of 11) down the stretch to seal it.

Diebler finished with eight steals, six assists and six rebounds, while leading five double-figure scorers. Wetherell backed him with 15 points, and Falk and Curtis Sebenoler (eight rebounds) contributed 11 points apiece. Ian Mason finished with 11 points.

The first meeting, Diebler was the lone Ram to score in double figures.
"I think our kids have matured, are taking good shots under control, and they're open, and Jon's going to get them the basketball," coach Diebler said. "Since the first time we played Tiffin, we've become better at moving the basketball, finding the open man, and more kids are scoring.

"(Jan. 13) was one night, and I like Tiffin's team. I think coach does a great job, and they're going to be a team that's hard to beat in the tournament.

Both teams are better, and both teams really fought on this floor tonight."
Moore added eight rebounds to his team-leading scoring, and Decker finished with 21 points. Aaron Hurd had four points and nine rebounds.

"I thought it was going to get ugly," Lewis said. "But one thing I've always said is, 'Our kids aren't going to quit. They're going to fight to the very end.' I'm not going to lie: There was a time when I thought our kids could have folded the tents, and they didn't. I thought they did a great job playing to the final whistle.
"I told them, 'We're playing our best basketball right now; we just don't have the wins to show it.'"

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

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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

[afgolfer]

Im just glad to see teams having success in Upper. Too bad we couldnt have had teams like that when i went there.

[daddyphatsacs]

Originally Posted by afgolfer

Im just glad to see teams having success in Upper. Too bad we couldnt have had teams like that when i went there.

You went to Upper? I'm a Norwalk grad, NOL alums.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

I am from Bucyrus.....when I was in high school, Bucyrus was a part of the NOL. I used to hate driving up to Norwalk.

[daddyphatsacs]

Originally Posted by bucknuts44820

I am from Bucyrus.....when I was in high school, Bucyrus was a part of the NOL. I used to hate driving up to Norwalk.

Yeah, that cruise up route 4 sucks ass. My buddy has to endure the boring drive down route 4 today in fact. He's coming from Bellevue down to Columbus to catch the game.

Man, when I was in school Bucyrus ran an offense full of misdirection plays. I played MLB, so it was challenging to stop them.

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3/3/06

Diebler reaches 2,000 plateau in sectional tournament victory

By Gary Ogle
News Journal




MANSFIELD -- Upper Sandusky's Jon Diebler scored his 2,000th career point and showcased his teammates as well while booting Galion out of the sectional tournament on Wednesday night.
The Rams put four players in twin digits to dismiss the Tigers 79-50 and advance to Friday's 8 p.m. sectional title game with Ontario.

"They're a good basketball team," Galion coach Steve Kent said. "It's no disgrace to lose to them." The Rams (16-5) are the defending Division II state champions, and showed they're gong to be a tough out for anyone in the postseason. Galion tried to counter by slowing the pace, and trailed just 15-11 after one quarter.


"We had a nice game plan. We just don't have the athletes to execute," Kent said. "I like what we did defensively. We limited Jon's (Diebler) shots.

But Jon distributes the basketball and the other kids convert."

There was no holding the Rams back after that. Upper Sandusky rifled the nets in Pete Henry Gymnasium for 33 points in the second frame and a 48-26 lead at intermission.

Diebler, a junior already committed to Ohio State and with a 77-point game to his credit this season, had 14 first-half points and finished with a game-high 21.

He also shook off early foul trouble to register 11 rebounds, four blocks, four steals and numerous assists.

"We wanted to keep Jon in the game because you're taking two and three people with him. The last half of the season you can't do that," said Keith Diebler, Jon's father and the Upper Sandusky coach. "Using Jon as a decoy really helps."

His 2,000th point came on a fadeaway baseline jumper.

"For the Upper Sandusky program, it's a milestone. But it wouldn't have meant much if we hadn't won," Keith Diebler said, noting Jon wasn't aware of the 2,000-point mark because "he doesn't read JJ Huddle."

"I think Jon is more excited about the kids he's playing with and making passes, and I think he'll tell you he's played with some pretty special people."

The second half was anticlimactic, especially after the Rams opened the third quarter on a 10-2 run.

Alex Falk had 15 for the Rams, Ian Mason added 14 and Aaron Wetherell added 12.

"I said Upper was probably the most improved team in the league (Northern Ohio League) since Christmas time," Kent said. "We just can't score. We average 49 points a game, but we did a lot of things right defensively."

Luke Sutton led the Tigers with nine points and James Zeuch came off the bench to add seven, all in the final quarter.

Kent came back to the Tigers on a one-year basis only. He noted how special it was to end his career Wednesday at Mansfield against Upper Sandusky.

"It's ironic. The last game I coach, Upper Sandusky is the school my dad (Carroll Kent) is in the hall of fame for," Kent said. "And my grandfather (Vernon Hoffman) is in the Hall of Fame here at Mansfield."
gogle@nncogannett.com 419-563-9225