By ANDREW FEEBACK
UNION CITY — A shorthanded Southern Wells team battled hard for much of the game before running out of gas late, falling to the host Union City Indians 57-45 Saturday night.
The Raiders (5-14) faced an uphill battle with Chandler Oswalt and Quinton Mullins not in the lineup. They fell behind by 11 points early, rallied to take a brief lead late in the third quarter, then saw the Indians (4-17) surge back in front.
“Honestly, they made shots,” coach Joel Roush said. “I didn’t think we gave up a bunch of easy looks. I didn’t think we were bad defensively. I thought they just started to make a few.”
Union City made 9 of 16 from beyond the arc, four of those coming after the Raiders had taken their only lead of the game.
A poor start to the game put the Raiders in a bind right out of the gate. The Indians raced out to an 11-2 lead, which soon became 15-4 due to the hot shooting of point guard Angel Nieto.
The Raiders outscored the Indians 10-4 in the second quarter to work their way back and tied the game twice early in the second half.
A jump shot from Andrew Aker gave Southern Wells a 31-29 lead with under a minute left in the third. That was the Raiders’ first and only, lead of the night.
It lasted all of 15 seconds before the Indians’ Conner Walser knocked down a 3-pointer to put Union City back in front. The Indians got it back after a Raider miss, and just when it looked like they would struggle to get a shot off in time, Walser hit another one as the buzzer sounded to put Union City up 35-31.
The Raiders found themselves down 40-32 after Trendon Spence made a triple.
“In a game this close, and this low-scoring, when you make a couple, it’s a big difference,” Roush said.
Five straight points from Evan Pennington brought the Raiders within 40-37 with 5:41 still to play.
Jenson Nusbaumer answered a Nieto 3-pointer with one of his own, and when Aker got a three to drop, the Raiders were within 49-45 at the 2:24 mark.
That was it for the Raiders offensively, as the Indians scored the game’s final eight points.
Southern Wells did not commit a foul the entire first half, and only committed seven turnovers for the game. But cold shooting caught up with the Raiders, as they finished 17 of 50 from the field and 3 of 21 from beyond the arc.
Pennington led the Raiders with 15 points, while Sonnigsen scored 11.
Walser topped the Indians with 15, while Spence and Camden LaFuze had 13 apiece.
Southern Wells will host Wes-Del Tuesday night in its final home game of the season.
The Raider JV team defeated Union City 68-44. CJ Reber scored 29 points, while Levi Woodward added 16.
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UNION CITY 57,
SOUTHERN WELLS 45
At Union City High School
SOUTHERN WELLS (5-14): Kedrik Sonnigen 4-15 3-5 11, Nick Lozoya 1-5 0-0 2, Andrew Aker 3-7 0-0 7, Jenson Nusbaumer 3-11 0-0 8, Bryar Gearheart 0-0 0-0 0, Evan Pennington 6-10 3-4 15, Tucker Worster 0-0 0-0 0, Chandler Oswalt 0-0 0-0 0, CJ Reber 0-0 0-0 0, Tristen Worster 0-0 0-0 0, Gage Roberts 0-1 0-0 0, Quinton Mullins 0-0 0-0 0, Perrin Gates 0-1 2-2 2. TOTALS: 17-50 8-11 45.
UNION CITY (4-17): Angel Nieto 3-3 0-0 9, Quincy Middaugh 0-0 0-0 0, Conner Walser 6-9 0-0 15, Zackary Fulk 1-3 0-0 3, Jayson Connor 1-3 0-0 2, Colton Emrick 0-1 0-0 0, Camden LaFuze 6-10 0-0 13, Jace O’Connor 0-0 0-0 0, Trendon Spence 2-8 8-10 13, Wade Botkin 1-2 0-0 2, Jackson Cowper 0-0 0-0 0, Caleb Lutz 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 20-39 8-10 57.
Southern Wells 7 10 14 14 — 45
Union City 15 4 16 22 — 57
Three-point Goals: Southern Wells 3-21 (Nusbaumer 2-10, Aker 1-5, Sonnigsen 0-3, Lozoya 0-2, Pennington 0-1), Union City 9-16 (Walser 3-5, Nieto 3-3, Spence 1-3, Fulk 1-3, LaFuze 1-1, Connor 0-1). Rebounds: Southern Wells 25 (Sonnigsen 10, Pennington 4, Roberts 3, Nusbaumer 3, Lozoya 2, Gates 2, Aker 1), Union City 24 (LaFuze 10, Nieto 6, Walser 3, Spence 2, Botkin 1, Fulk 1, Connor 1). Turnovers: Southern Wells 7, Union City 11. Fouls: Southern Wells 8, Union City 10. Fouled out: None. Technicals: None.
JV: Southern Wells 68, Union City 44.
