|
|
Mississinawa
Valley sent its seniors off in style Friday with a 74-52
victory over Cross County
Conference rivals Bethel. Senior Devon
Rinderle led the seniors with 15 points while Colyn Nelson
netted 13
and Dalton Geesy 11 in support. CNO Photos by Dylan Knoop
|
|
Hawks blast
Bees in The Nest
MV wins fifth straight
By George Starks
UNION CITY- With Bethel taking Tri-Village to the limit just a week
before, no one could have imagined what would happen next at
Mississinawa Valley Friday.
Many thought it would be a lopsided final score with Bethel winning big.
That wasn’t the case!
Like a finely tuned motor getting ready for a 500 mile race, the
Mississinawa Valley Blackhawks swooped down and blasted Bethel, 74-52,
to push its winning streak to five straight and seven wins in the
previous eight games.
It was a senior night that brought out the best in the entire team.
“It wasn’t just two or three of them, it was all seven of them that
played,” said Hawks coach Tim Barga. “This was a whole team effort.
Everyone stepped up tonight.”
Up 14-7 after one and 31-23 at the break, the Hawks were in total
control the whole night.
Even when the Bees made a run, MV had answers and the buzz that the
Bees will often bring, was silenced.
On a night when Colyn Nelson, Devon Rinderle and Dalton Geesy would
play their last home game in a Hawks uniform, the Hawks played a near
perfect game in a win that no one could have predicted.
“We made a few mistakes but not many,” admitted Barga. “We had very few
turnovers and that contributed in a big way to this night. I’m happy
with this win. I’m not sure when this team had 14 wins in a season but
the fans should be happy.”
Mississinawa Valley suffered what many would consider a huge blow in
the third quarter when sophomore and leading scorer, Ethan Bowman would
set up to take a charge.
The Bethel player, lowered his head and shoulder, running Bowman over.
Bowman went head first into the mat on the wall but was given his
fourth foul for a block.
That would eventually put Bowman on the bench and would get Barga off
the bench to argue the call.
In the process, Barga would be hit with a technical foul.
With barely half of the third quarter in the books, Barga would be
forced to sit the bench but that technical seemed to get the Hawks even
more fired up, leading 51-38 at the end of the third.
“I really don’t want to get too many of those but it seemed like the
kids exploded more after that happened,” said Barga with a laugh. “We
have played well against a lot of teams but here as of late, they are
playing like a team. Many of our fans are upset because we’re not
getting out and running more bust since we’ve stopped running, we’re
winning. We’ve learned how to take care of the ball late in the game.
We’ve played some good team and beat them lately. We beat Miami East,
Covington, Houston and Betheltonight. These are not slouchy teams.”
Led by Bowman with 18 points, Rinderle added 15 with Nelson and Geesy
chipping in with 13 and 11 points each.
“I’m really proud of these boys,” said Barga. “Rinderle has become more
of a leader and he’s come a long way over the past couple of years. Now
we take the next turn and look toward the tournament.”
The Hawks will take on Houston Friday at 8:30 in Piqua in the opening
round of the sectional.
The Hawks popped the Wildcats 55-45 just over a week ago at home.
|
|
Dalton
Geesy eyes the bucket.
|
|
Ethan Conley hits for two late in the game.
|
|
|
|
