With the quicker-than-normal turnaround, that meant a likely war of attrition.
The host Wildcats dominated the third period 25-13 and didn’t let the Big Green dig out in the fourth for a 61-50 triumph.
Keying the Jeffcats (9-6) was 51.1-percent shooting (23-of-45 overall, 4-of-13 triples), with the likes of Craig Carder (3 assists) off the bench netting 11 and “Mike and Mike” — Wiltsie (2 bombs) and Rahrig — adding 10 each.
“When we go inside and out, we are much more effective offensively. I felt going in we had an advantage in the post; Ottoville automatically doubles-down when the ball goes into the post,” Jefferson coach Marc Smith observed. “I told our post people they had two options: make an immediate move or kick it back out. That opened up some open looks on the perimeter. When we share the load like that, we are much better.”
Ottoville coach Tom Von Sossan was unavailable for comment. His team (4-11) shot a cold 14-of-48 (6-of-19 trifectas) for 29.2 percent. Brad Turnwald (8 rebounds) led all scorers with 21 (3 treys) and Jacob Landin (2 trios) added 12.
“Michael (Wiltsie) did an outstanding job on (Andrew) Koch, holding him to two points. I would have been happy for 10 points, Koch’s such a good player,” Smith continued. “Michael is our leader out there; he knows he is going to defend the opponent’s best perimeter scorer and accepts that challenge.”
The Wildcats led 22-20 despite some first-half foul trouble (12 in the half, 22 total). By the 6:01 mark, a 3-point play by Turnwald tied the contest at 26. The Wildcats then took off, with Bubba Shivley (7 caroms) scoring six markers. They hit 9-of-14 shots in that run (11-of-17 for the quarter — seven players got into the scoring act) and opened up a 47-33 chasm on Shivley’s 10-foot baseline ‘J’ with 1.1 seconds to go.
The Big Green tried to get out of that hole in the finale. With Landin (5 caroms) dropping in eight in the period (2 trios), they battled within 50-46 on Turnwald’s bomb from the left wing at 4:25. Matt Gerdeman scored inside nine ticks later and Carder added two throws at 3:28. A Landin trifecta got the Big Green within 54-49 at 2:52 but the Red and Black closed with a 7-1 spurt — 4-of-6 from the line (11-of-17 overall for 64.7%).
“Both of us were coming off tough losses; we lost to Bluffton at the end when I felt we controlled the game. I was operating on about an hours’ worth of sleep and the kids probably 5 or 6; Ottoville was likely facing the same problem,” Smith added. “It was going to be tough. We went even deeper into our bench early than we normally do because we were on fumes and in foul trouble and we got baskets from Chris (Wilkin) and Austin (Bonifas). They gave us what we needed and we got another big win.”
Jefferson lost starting point guard Jordan Jettinghoff (3 assists) to two fouls at 5:49 of the first and he was done for the half. Still, the Wildcats ground out a 10-7 edge when Josh Miller (9 boards) hit a single with 24 ticks on the board.
Jefferson got into more foul trouble in the second period but they still expanded the lead to as much as 18-10 on two Miller tosses at 3:31. Back came the Big Green; four different players contributed to a 10-4 kick, including a hard jump-stop slash from Koch (3 assists) with 3.1 ticks to go for a 22-20 deficit.
In sum, Ottoville shot 16-of-24 at the line (66.7%); tracked down 26 caroms (10 offensive); and amassed 15 errors and 18 fouls. Phil Sargent and Nathan Beining added three steals each. They visit Fort Jennings Tuesday.
Jefferson grabbed 34 boards (7 offensive) and handed it over 15 times. The visit Columbus Grove Friday.
Jefferson’s JV unit improved to 10-5 with a 45-40 victory.
Tyree DeWitt dropped in 20 for the hosts; Nate Turnwald countered with 22 for the Green and Gold (7-8).