By Drew Terhall

DailyAdvocate.com

ANSONIA — The Ansonia High School boys basketball team makes it four wins in a row after defeating Mississinawa Valley High School, 74-29. The win puts the Tigers over the .500 mark with a 9-8 record.

Ansonia head coach Tony Overton said after they went down 4-0 early in the game, the team played up to his expectations.

“Once they got the cobwebs out, they woke up. That’s kind of what I expected. Based on our athleticism and our capabilities, it was refreshing to put it together. We looked out for one another,” Overton said.

Ansonia ended the first quarter with a 23-9 lead. The early slump didn’t faze them.

Mississinawa Valley head coach Nick Hamilton said Ansonia came out and had a great game while his team came out flat.

“We didn’t come out hot, we didn’t come out with any energy,” Hamilton said.

The Tigers came out in the second quarter with urgency. They already had the momentum, but the Tigers made sure they created a home-court advantage.

To start the second quarter, junior Ethan Reichert got a turnover and drove in for the slam dunk to get the crowd going. On the next possession, junior Garrett Stammen made a three-point shot to get the crowd roaring again.

The game was getting out of hand quickly. Hamilton said he wanted his seniors and junior to learn how to step up when they needed to. To get that message across, he sat his entire starting lineup during most of the second quarter.

“I was hoping to fire them up and get them angry. They would go out and play a little harder,” Hamilton said. “It just didn’t happen tonight. There wasn’t any energy for some reason.”

At halftime, the Tigers were up 46-18. From that point, they never let the Blackhawks hang around.

The offense was firing on all cylinders during the game. The team made 10 three pointers and were sharing the ball. Overton gave credit to senior Ian Schmitmeyer for being a facilitator. Overton said in a two-game stretch, Schmitmeyer had 14 assists with only one turnover.

The defense also match the offense’s intensity. They held the Blackhawks to less than 10 points in each quarter. Ansonia also allowed only two three-point shots from Mississinawa Valley.

Overton said this kind of win helps build confidence come tournament time. There is also time to play for a better seed in the tournament.

While the team has started to think a little bit about the postseason, Overton does want to finish out the regular season by setting the tone for what Ansonia basketball should be while he’s in charge.

“We got a chance to finish with a winning record in the league and the regular season. That’s what I want to do and bring here to where it’s recurring every year,” Overton said.

Stammen led all scorers with 22 points. He also had four three pointers. Junior Trevor Hemmerich had 18 points with three three pointers. Reichert also had 10 points. For the Blackhawks, senior Drew Anguiano led the team with nine points.

Mississinawa Valley will next host Preble Shawnee on Jan. 27 and then head to Fort Recovery on Jan. 28. Ansonia will host Franklin Monroe next on Jan. 27.

Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected]