MINSTER – For a nearly two minute span in the third quarter Minster guard Eric Schmidt was dialed in as he scored 11 of his game high 19 points to give his Wildcats a 63-27 season opening win over visiting Spencerville.
Schmidt, a 6’0 senior who averaged 5.1 points per game last season put his team on top 3-0 in the first quarter on his way to six of his teams 15 opening stanza markers, but showed his shooting touch in the third as he drained back to back three pointers to push the Wildcats ahead 40-14 and then added a third from deep moments later.
Missing a total of six players due to injuries and Covid-19 related contact tracing, the short handed Bearcats were unable to muster a field goal in the game until a shot by Josh Henline with 2:13 to go in the first period that cut the Minster lead to 11-6. Henline was not done for the visiting team in the quarter as he notched a three ball with :58 on the clock that cut the score back to 13-9 but would also represent the last make from the field for his squad until the fourth period.
Unable to make a shot from the field the Bearcats were held to points from the free throw line but were successful to the tune of 8/13 in the first half of play as they headed into the locker room trailing 22-13 at the break.
While Schmidt was lighting it up on the perimeter, his teammate Johnny Nixon was earning baskets on the inside and in the paint by snagging rebounds as he accounted for eight of his 12 points in the third quarter that saw the Wildcats hold Spencerville to just a single point on a free throw by freshman Carter Sudhoff.
Spencerville’s Henline stopped the offensive futility for the Bearcats from the field with 7:41 remaining in the game when his jump shot cut the Minster advantage to 46-16 and put a halt to a span of over 17 minutes of game action without a made field goal.
Henline would not be done in the quarter for the visitors however as he struck again with 5:42 left to again cut the lead, this time to 51-18. Teammate Keegan Goecke connected on all four of his free throws in the final eight minutes to finish with six points, all on free throws.
On the evening the Wildcats knocked down eight three point goals which included a trio in the fourth stanza from the trio of Adam Ketner, Josh Niekamp, and Mitchell Bornhorst en route to a 17 point period and a fourth straight win over the Bearcats.
Bearcat freshman Evan Osting notched the last make of the game with 1:00 to go as he connected on a right wing three point goal.
“I thought we had a really good defensive third quarter. Adam Ketner was great for us tonight on both ends of the floor. Eric Schmidt stepped up and made some shots to extend the game tonight, and this is a good first win for us but we have a lot to get better at” opined Minster head coach Michael McClurg after the game.
Up next for Minster is a Midwest Athletic Conference matchup next Friday night against Versailles while Elida visits Spencerville’s Walk-In Closet on the same evening for a non-league battle with the Bearcats.
Box Score:
Minster (63):
Eric Schmidt 19
Brady Hoelscher 4
Adam Ketner 8
Johnny Nixon 12
Josh Niekamp 4
John Billing 2
Justin Nixon 11
Mitchell Bornhorst 3
FT: 5/11
3PT: 8 (Schmidt 4, Ketner 2, Niekamp, Bornhorst)
TO: 15
Spencerville (27):
Josh Henline 11
Keegan Goecke 6
Tyler Koenig 2
Evan Osting 3
Nathan Coulter 2
Carter Sudhoff 3
FT: 13/19
3PT: 2 (Henline, Osting)
TO: 25
JV: Minster 43-39