Upper has big run but goes cold in 49-37 loss

By LONNIE McMILLAN

Sports editor

When shots were going down, things looked great for Upper Sandusky, but that did not happen for most of the night, and Seneca East took a 49-37 victory in Northern 10 Athletic Conference boys basketball play Friday night at Upper Sandusky.

After falling behind 7-0, the Rams (7-12, 6-6 N10) scored 16 straight points. They simply could not keep it going, finishing the night just 14 of 49 (28.6%) from the field, including 2 of 22 from long range.

“When we can’t make it from any point on the floor, it makes it real hard, but we didn’t play well defensively,” Upper Sandusky coach Jeff Winslow said. “We rebounded OK, I guess. Offensively, too many turnovers, too many missed opportunities, too many missed wide-open looks, not enough offensive rebounds. We didn’t play real well.”

Luke Mason set the N10 career 3-point mark with one during Seneca East’s quick start and then really came to life in the second half when he scored 15 of his 21 points. He added six assists, and Ayden Perkins had a good night with 12 points.

Jaron Depinet failed to convert a three-point play chance, but his layup still put the Tigers (7-12, 6-6 N10) up 7-0 to start the game, but the next seven minutes belonged to the Rams, beginning with an Ashton Clark jumper that finally got them on the board.

Ethan Smith’s free throw following an offensive rebound with less than a second left gave Upper Sandusky a 10-7 lead after one quarter. Baskets by Luke Schoenberger, Matt Schoenberger and Josh Heilman extended the advantage to 16-7.

“We made some shots,” Winslow said. “We’re really struggling to put the ball in the cylinder. We just can’t get it in there. That stretch we did a pretty good job of it.”

Mason assisted a Perkins layup that started to get things going Seneca East’s way. Mason later drained his second of five 3-pointers on the night to get the Tigers to within one, but Matt Schoenberger responded with one of his own.

Upper Sandusky attempted to hold for the final shot of the half, but Mason had other ideas with a steal that led to a Perkins layup before the buzzer to put the score at 21-19.

Four points from Mason to start the third quarter put the Tigers back in the lead. The Rams answered with back-to-back three-point plays from Heilman and Matt Schoenberger. Perkins and Brady Bloom drained 3-pointers, and after Heilman tied it with a basket, Perkins put Seneca East on top for good with another 3.

“We showed pretty good mettle,” Langhurst said. “Guys kind of buckled down. We were getting beat up on the boards pretty good and weren’t able to locate shooters. We kind of challenged them there a little bit once we got into halftime. We did just enough to get to halftime. I like the way we responded.”

Seneca East led 36-33 after three quarters and gave up just four points in the fourth quarter. Upper Sandusky made its only field goal of the period on the final shot of the game, missing nine shots in a row to that point.

It started to get away from the Rams when Mason had a pass deflected and nearly stolen, but instead he ended up with it and buried a 3-pointer that doubled the lead to six points. He knocked down two more 3-pointers in the quarter and now has made 187 of them in his career, surpassing the record of 183 set last season by Mohawk’s Hunter Haynes.

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“He’s a focal point of all the defenses he plays against, so for him to continuously knock down 3s, that’s a big deal,” Langhurst said. “It’s just a credit to him and the program. He’s willing to make the pass, so obviously the teammates are willing to get the ball back to him.”

Heilman and Matt Schoenberger had 13 points each to lead the Rams. Heilman also had a game-high eight rebounds.

After a three-game winning streak, the Rams have dropped four of their last five.

“We’ll watch the film and just try to keep getting better at the things we’re not doing very good at,” Winslow said. “All you can do is just keep grinding and fight through. Basketball is a long season. You’re going to go through some tough times, and we’re in one of the toughest times that we’ve had right now, so we’ve just got to keep grinding.”

Nathan King had 21 points in a 66-46 junior varsity victory.

Upper Sandusky has a week off before play at 6 p.m. Friday at Mohawk.

SENECA EAST (14-4, 9-3 N10): Mason 7-2-21, Perkins 6-1-15, Depinet 2-1-5, Price 2-0-4, Boes 1-0-3, Hicks 0-1-1. Totals 18-45 5-10 49.

UPPER SANDUSKY (7-12, 6-6 N10): Heilman 5-3-13, M. Schoenberger 5-1-13, L. Schoenberger 2-0-4, Et. Smith 1-1-3, Romich 0-2-2, Clark 1-0-2. Totals 14-49 7-11 37.

3-point goals: Mason 5, Perkins 2, M. Schoenberger 2, Boes, Bloom.

Score by quarters

Seneca East   7             12          17          13          — 49

Upper Sandusky          10          11          12          4             — 37

Junior varsity: Upper Sandusky won 66-46.