PIQUA – An Ansonia Tigers slow start proved to be too much to overcome in losing a D-IV sectional final 33-23 to the Fort Loramie Redskins.
“That was probable the best defense we’ve seen this year,” said Ansonia coach Devin Limburg. “They just bottled us up. Every set we ran they jumped all over it and they have five guys that can switch everything, so that helps”
The Redskins jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the opening four minutes of the game on their way to a 12-5 advantage after one period of play.
The defensive struggle stretched into Period No. 2 with the Redskins limiting Ansonia to a single 2-point field goal while adding 5-points to the board sending the teams to the break with the Tigers trailing by a 17-7 score.
Fort Loramie used a 5-0 opening third quarter run to lead 22-7 with 6:01 on the clock before the Tigers battled back to close out third quarter scoring on a 5-3 run to trail 25-12 with one period to play.
Ansonia took advantage of seven Matthew Shook points including a 3-pointer and four Hunter Muir points to cut the Redskins lead to 5-points, 28-23 at 1:48 in the fourth.
“Really proud of the guys,” said Limburg. “That’s kind of the epitome of our season – we just battle to the end and there is just no quit.”
Fort Loramie closed out scoring on the night with a 5-0 run to advance in tournament play with a 10-point win.
Ansonia’s leading scorers on the season; Buckingham and Muir were held to a total 6-points with all six coming from Muir.
“I thought Buck (Buckingham) got some good looks – he just couldn’t get it to fall,” noted Limburg. “Hunter Muir had six points but I thought he was really good. He dominated the boards.”
Matthew Shook led Ansonia and all scorers with a game high 13-points while Muir was pulling down 13-rebounds on the night.
Score by quarters
Ansonia^5^2^5^11^-^23
Fort Loramie^12^5^8^8^-^33
Individual scoring
Ansonia – M. Shook 13, H. Muir 6, M. Ferrier 2, A. Rowland 2. Totals: 7 3-6 2 23.
Fort Loramie – E. Rosengarten 12, N. Brandewie 6, M. Kemper 5, J. Rattermann 3. C. Mescher 2, N. Ratterman 2, G. Albers 1, N. Meyer 1, N. Berning 1. Totals: 10 7-11 2 33.
3-pointers – Ansonia 2 (M. Shook 2), Fort Loramie 2 (E. Rosengarten 2).
