the bistro off broadway
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Mississinawa Valley sophomore Ethan Bowman fights through a double team as Andrew Augspurger (22) and
Jacob Bassler defend for Twin Valley South Friday. The Panthers edged out the Blackhawks 44-42 in Cross County
Conference play. Bowman netted 20 points to lead the way for the Hawks. CNO Photo by Dylan Knoop
 
Hawks fall short in loss to Panthers
By George Starks

UNION CITY- To say Mississinawa Valley coach Tim Barga was upset with the performance of his team would be a major exaggeration.

In a very lackluster performance, the Blackhawks couldn’t figure out how to win on a night they should have won big.

Shooting a miserable 10 of 18 from the foul line and only five of nine attempts in the fourth quarter, Mississinawa Valley fell to Twin Valley South Friday, 44-42 in Cross County Conference action.

“We just blew another one,” said MV coach Tim Barga. “It’s time after time after time. We can’t handle any pressure. So if you want to beat us, just come out and pressure us. We still have no team leader. We’re still looking for one.”

Closing out the third quarter on an 8-0 run, highlighted by a blocked shot from senior Devon Rinderle, Mississinawa Valley came from a 19-18 halftime deficit to take a nice 31-25 lead with eight minutes left to play.

That 8-0 run was sparked by some good defense and the ability to take advantage of Twin Valley South mistakes.

Trailing until the 1:36 mark of the third quarter, junior Andrew Johns hit a trey and the Hawks had their first lead of the night, 26-25.

That shot started a Blackhawk rally as Perkins added a 3-pointer with 54.6 second left in the frame and then it was and senior Colyn Nelson hitting inside to put Mississinawa Valley up 31-25 entering the fourth quarter.

For just over 22 minutes, it was the Hawks defense that kept the home team in the game.

 “We played good defense the first half,” Barga said. “Four games ago we gave up nine points… 10 points the game after that and 12 points the game after that. What, 16 or 19 in this game. You can’t beat that.”

With everything going in favor of the Hawks in the third quarter, it all came unraveled in the fourth

Twin Valley South started the period with a Mike Meyers basket to pull within four at 31-27.

The Panthers continued to chip away at the Hawks defense and would eventually take the lead for good when Jacob Bassler would hit a bucket and connect from the foul line giving South a slim 33-32 advantage.

It was Bassler that would account for 12 points in a 14-2 fourth quarter run.

Bowman’s final basket came with just 24 seconds left as he forced a turnover off a Twin Valley South inbound and drove in to score and give MV a 42-41 lead.

It came down to silly mistakes and turnovers the spelled doom for the Hawks on this night.

“There were numerous mistakes throughout the game that contributed to the loss, Barga said. “We had turnovers, and that right there caused (Bassler) to get shots off. We missed foul shots. That caused things right there. We had an inbounds play that we had a layup on, and I don’t know what happened on that … we wasn’t looking. That was a set play. I’d say turnover after turnover.”

Sophomore Ethan Bowman led the Hawks with 20 points but had little help fro the rest of the team.

Nelson chipped in with eight but the seniors didn't help as Barga would have liked.

"We have no leader on this team," said Barga. "We're still looking for a leader."

See more photos of this game at Facebook Empowering Darke County Youth



 
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