BOWLING GREEN – A season after reaching the state final four the OG Titans are headed back to UD Arena after winning the Bowling Green regional title on Saturday afternoon at the Stroh Center 51-44 over Colonel Crawford.
Ottawa Glandorf finished the regular season ranked #2 in Division 3 just behind the unbeaten Eagles who claimed the #1 spot in the Associated Press rankings.
Sophomore standout Colin White gave the Titans the first marker of the game after a scoreless near two and a half minutes of action and assisted teammate Eli Schmenk the next trip down the floor to make it a 4-0 OG lead with 4:46 to go in the first.
Colonel Crawford snagged their first lead of the contest on their next two offensive possessions when deep triples from Braxton Baxter and future Ashland Eagle Carter Valentine put the Eagles on top 6-4 at the 3:17 mark.
Unfortunately for Colonel Crawford, the Titans offense found a second gear as they raced ahead for a triple from White and a late basket by 6’6 junior post Theo Maag to take a 9-6 lead they would carry into the quarter break.
One change for Ottawa Glandorf in the tournament has been the addition of top defender Caleb Kuhlman to the starting lineup. The switch by head coach Tyson McGlaughlin has paid off so far as Kuhlman has held the opposing teams big shooters in check, allowing just four first half points to Eastwood’s Jacob Meyer on Wednesday and just a pair of free throws on this afternoon to senior Mason Studer.
While the Titans defense was again able to hold their opponents mostly in check through the second period, the offense continued to target baskets at a frantic rate thanks to White and classmate Caden Erford.
Entering play on Saturday Erford had connected on 8/23 from behind the arc but took over the scoring for the blue and gold in the second as he hit from deep three times on his way to a season high 11 points in a span of four minutes to push his teams advantage to 28-13 before the horn.
Tyson McGlaughlin, Ottawa Glandorf’s 11th year head coach said of Erford’s performance off the bench “Caden is one of our better shooters and after he hit the first one that rim gets a lot bigger. For him to come into that moment and perform like that is absolutely huge.”
Triples for Eagles in the third helped the topped ranked squad pull within single digits of the Titans as Studer, Baxter, and Derek Horsley each hit from outside while limited Ottawa Glandorf to just seven points in the period.
Both teams turned to their standouts in the final eight minutes of play and watched them pay dividends as a shootout between Colonel Crawford’s Valentine and OG’s White brought each teams fans to their feet on multiple occasions.
Valentine, the first scholarship player under head coach David Sheldon cut the Titan lead to 48-44 with 45.3 seconds remaining as he connected on a pair of free throws.
Colin White accounted for all but five of his teams 16 point outburst in the fourth period and hit on all five of his free throws as part of a game high 22 points to help the Titans finish off a seven point victory.
“We did a really good job of continuing to make them work. We stuck to our game plan and got into their legs, that’s what we try to do is to wear you down” said McGlaughlin after the contest.
Colonel Crawford (26-1) was led in scoring by the duo of Braxton Baxter and Carter Valentine who each ended the afternoon with 14 apiece. Mason Studer notched 13 for the Eagles who were held nearly 20 points under their season scoring average and see their campaign come to an end.
Ottawa Glandorf (24-2)’s Caden Erford and Eli Schmenk joined White in double figures with 11 each in helping to lead OG to their 9th regional championship.
Friday morning at 10:45am the Titans will battle Columbus Africentric, 61-48 winners over Garaway inside UD Arena in Dayton. Ottawa Glandorf defeated the Nubians in January 2020 in the OG Winter Classic 94-64 in the last meeting between the two schools.
WZOQ Radio will broadcast the state semifinals live beginning at 10:15am on WZOQ Radio.
Scoring:
OG (51):
Carson Fuka 2
Caleb Kuhlman 1
Eli Schmenk 11
Caden Erford 11
Colin White 22
Theo Maag 4
FG: 17/35
3PT: 5/16 (Erford 3, White, Schmenk)
FT: 12/14
REB: 23
TO: 11
Colonel Crawford (44):
Mason Studer 13
Derek Horsley 3
Braxton Baxter 14
Carter Valentine 14
FG: 13/41
3PT: 8/19 (Baxter 4, Valentine 2, Studer, Horsley)
FT: 10/10
REB: 24
TO: 10