Otsego’s Devin Silva looks to drive the paint as Genoa’s Logan Routson defends. (Nicholas Huenefeld | Sentinel-Tribune)
By Nicholas Huenefeld
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
TONTOGANY —- In a game that was much closer than the final score would indicate, the Otsego boys basketball team suffered a 68-48 loss to undefeated Genoa on Tuesday night.
“We told our guys in the locker room that we’re extremely proud of how hard they played,” Otsego head coach Steve Carroll said. “We had some unfortunate stances late when we turned the ball, and then our defense let up a couple things. But our effort was there the whole night.”
After a late second quarter run gave Genoa a 30-20 lead at the break, the Comets opened up a 12-point lead early in the third quarter following a layup from Walter Plantz, who had a game-high 24 points along with 12 rebounds and five blocks.
Otsego (15-6 overall, 7-6 NBC), however, responded with six straight that included a layup from Jaxson Vollmar and a jumper in the paint from Mason Kramer. It pulled the Knights within 36-30 with 3:51 left in the quarter and forced a Comets timeout.
Although the Comets pushed the lead back to double-digits with a layup and free throw from Ryan Routson, Kramer drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to get his team back within eight entering the fourth.
“Our defensive pressure was really good,” Carroll said. “I think Mason Kramer had a handful of timely deflections, same with Toby (Powell). We got it down to six, the ball didn’t bounce the way it needed to a couple times, and they were able to score a little too easy on us a little bit. But we were there, just the next step is we have to play with more poise and take advantage of those opportunities when we’re there.”
Myles Mollenhauer opened the fourth quarter with a key 3-pointer from the corner to give Genoa a double-digit lead, and an old fashioned three-point play from Plantz, along with a layup from Jake Woollard, gave the Comets a 52-38 lead just two minutes into the quarter.
Another three-point play from Plantz bumped it to 17 a short time later, and the Comets led by as many as 22 late.
“We moved the ball on offense,” Carroll said. “A couple times the shots didn’t fall when we needed them to. But Genoa’s well coached. They’re in the right spot. The few open shots we got, we just didn’t do a great job of capitalizing on those, but I think our guys played as hard as they possibly could tonight, and that version of us right there, when our shots are falling, is going to be a hard team to beat in the tournament.”
Both teams went back and forth in the opening quarter. After Genoa opened up a 7-3 lead following a 3-pointer from Mollenhauer, Otsego scored six of the next seven points to take the lead via a layup from Vollmar and a 3-pointer from Kramer.
Another 3-pointer from Kramer provided a 12-11 lead with 2:21 left, but Plantz scored four points down the stretch as Genoa took a 17-14 lead through one.
Brayton Knapp drilled a game-tying 3-pointer to open the second quarter, but Genoa outscored Otsego 13-1 the rest of the half, which included six more points from Plantz.
Kramer had a team-best 16 points for Otsego, while Vollmar and Devin Silva each added 10 points.
Outside of Plantz, Routson added 17 points, while Mollenhauer had nine, Ty Asman had eight, and Woollard had six. The Comets are now 21-0 overall and 13-0 in NBC play. They will attempt to finish off an undefeated conference slate and regular season against Rossford on Friday.
“That’s a really good Genoa team,” Carroll said. “We told our guys going in that you’re going to have to play as close to your ceiling as you can to beat them, and I think for a long stretch of that game, we did. I’m proud of our kids’ effort.”