SPORTS

Season ends as ’Dogs lose to Indians
For the fourth time in the last five years, the Cedarville High School Indians put an end to a great year for the Yellow Springs Bulldogs. Aided by a series of friendly whistles and a dearth of Yellow Springs starters on the floor at the end of the game, the Indians claimed a 64–61 double-overtime victory on Tuesday, March 4, in the District 15, Division IV regional semifinal at the University of Dayton arena.
In the first half, Cedarville came out strong and dominated nearly every aspect of the game. The Indians were able to force the Bulldogs into making several turnovers, building a 15–11 first quarter lead.
Once Cedarville had a lead, it slowed the tempo dramatically. Holding the ball for nearly a minute on every possession, the Indians scored time and again on penetrating drives or from the free-throw line.
Once they had fallen behind, the Bulldogs were forced to play at Cedarville’s snail’s pace, and were unable to develop a rhythm offensively. The Bulldogs also had trouble getting to the free-throw line in the first half, finishing the half with just two free-throw attempts to Cedarville’s 10. At the end of the half Cedarville had a distinct edge in every statistical category, leading 28–18 and trailing the ’Dogs in fouls called, two to eight.
YSHS recovered in third quarter, cutting Cedarville’s lead to 35–29. The Bulldogs’ shooting and defense improved during the period, and Cedarville seemed to tire, committing several silly fouls near the end of the frame. The Bulldogs found their limited success in the quarter by working the ball inside to Dustin Rudegeair, who finished the period with 9 points and several rebounds.
In the fourth quarter, Yellow Springs played its most inspired basketball of the entire evening, eventually taking a 39–38 lead with 4:55 left. Despite the comeback, the Indians continued to control the tempo. The two teams traded foul shots and layups during the final minutes, and both teams missed opportunities to win before the end of regulation.
The crowd of over 1,000 spectators was quiet only once, when Cedarville senior Micah Harding’s last second shot danced around the rim before falling out as the last seconds of regulation expired.
Harding’s missed shot followed two free-throws by YSHS senior Brent Robinson, who put the ’Dogs up 49–48 with 10.6 seconds left. On the subsequent inbounds pass, Bulldog Anthony Brandon was whistled for a hand-check and the Indians went to the line for two shots. They made the first, but missed the second, leading to Harding’s last-second miss.
In the first overtime, Cedarville only managed one field goal, but several YSHS turnovers and a variety of suspect calls against the Bulldogs allowed the Indians to stay in the game via the charity stripe. With the score tied at 53 and only 1:58 left in overtime, Bulldog Andrew Richlen committed his fifth personal foul when he prevented a Cedarville player from making any easy layup.
Cedarville then held the ball for over a minute against a four-guard Bulldog lineup, eventually notching its only field goal of the period to take a 55–53 lead. On the Bulldogs’ next possession, Robinson was fouled and sent to the line again, this time needing to make both shots to tie with 52.9 seconds left. Robinson calmly sank both shots, sending the game to another OT.
In the second overtime, the Bulldogs’ foul trouble finally caught up with them. Robinson, Rory Hotaling, Anthony Brandon and Jordan Skinner fouled.
Cedarville scored all of its points from the line in the final overtime period, and for the game made 24–35 free throws. YSHS was 13 of 15 from the line for the game.
Despite playing two starters from the JV squad and only one varsity starter in the final minute, the Bulldogs still found themselves down by only 3 with 9.1 second left in the game. Following two Cedarville free throws, the Bulldogs inbounded the ball and got it to Rudegeair, whose buzzer-beating three-point attempt rimmed out. As the referees watched the shot clang off the hoop, a dejected-looking Rudegeair picked himself up off the ground, apparently fouled on the play.
Rudegeair was the game’s high scorer with 25, while Harding led Cedarville with 19. Robinson added 18 in his last game at YSHS.
With the loss, the Bulldogs ended their season with record of 20–3.
—Brian Loudon

Sixth-grade girls 2nd in league
The sixth-grade girls basketball team won two games and lost in the finals to take second place in the Kenton Trace Conference tournament on Sunday, Feb. 23.
In the opening game of the tourney, the Bulldogs beat East Clinton, 23–11. Ashanta Robinson led all scorers with 13 points, followed by Theresa Skinner with 4. Kristen Foster, Kaci Yelton and Ryder Comstock had 2 points each.
In the semifinal game, the Lady Bulldogs defeated Wilmington, 23–22, in overtime.
Jessica Kellar hit a shot with a minute to play in regulation to tie the score, and Robinson scored 4 of her team-high 10 points in overtime. In a game where the Bulldogs made only 1 of 9 from the free-throw line, Comstock’s clutch free throw with a minute left in overtime secured a win for the girls.
“Our defense really came through for us,” coach Paul Comstock said.
In the championship game, the Lady Bulldogs were defeated by two-time league champion Clinton-Massie, 20–12.
The game started at 10 p.m., and the worn-out Lady Bulldogs were unable to match an experienced Clinton-Massie team, which benefited from having a first-round bye.
Robinson again led her team with 6 points, followed by Scarver, with 4. Kellar and Skinner also scored.
“I am very proud of our team,” Paul Comstock said.
The sixth-grade girls team finished 10–4, losing three times to Clinton-Massie.
Other members of the team are Leslie Holland, Rachel Trumbull, Élan Orr, Jenny Barnett and Liz Zaff.