By JOSH BURRIS
The Canterbury Cavaliers slipped out of the Bluffton Tigers’ grasp Wednesday night as the visitors from Fort Wayne defeated the Class 2A Sectional 36 host 59-42.
The Tigers (4-19) hung with the Cavaliers (9-14) most of the evening and trailed 42-39 with just over six minutes to play in the game. Then the Cavaliers went on a 9-2 run to go up 10 points with 3:15 to play and scored 6 straight in the final 90 seconds to extend their lead and seal it.
“We were right there,” Bluffton coach Karl Grau said after the game. “We just didn’t get stops. Then when it got stretched to 7 or 8, we didn’t score on a possession or two and had to foul.”
After trailing at the half 23-19, the Tigers started the third quarter off hot with a 12-4 run. Max Stoppenhagen kicked the third off with a three and scored 12 of his team-high 20 points in the quarter. After back-to-back buckets from Canterbury’s Devon Lewis and Will Russell, Stoppenhagen knocked down two more jumpers to put Bluffton ahead 35-31 with 2:20 to go.
Next it was Lewis’ turn to heat up. The Cavaliers’ point guard scored the last 8 points of the quarter to put his team back on top 39-35. He led all scorers in the game with 22 points on 9-for-19 shooting.
Luke Schlabach then opened the fourth with a bucket to make it 10 straight points for Canterbury.
“We were only down 4 going into the fourth, and we were up 4 with a couple minutes to go (in the third). But give them (Canterbury) credit for making nice plays,” Grau said.
The final score of the game was perhaps much higher than most in attendance anticipated after seeing the first quarter, which ended with a 7-6 Bluffton lead.
Stoppenhagen got the Tigers on the board first with a free throw, and Harrison Schreiber followed with a layup. Lewis and Adam Nassour answered back on the other end with back-to-back buckets.
Andrew Ball then hit a three, followed by another Stoppenhagen free throw. And Lewis closed the quarter with a jumper.
The Tigers shot just 2-of-7 in that quarter and committed eight turnovers. The Cavaliers shot 3-of-12 and turned it over four times.
Both teams began settling in during the second quarter. There were three lead changes in the first three minutes, with Ashton Dressler’s jumper putting Canterbury ahead 15-13 with 5:10 left in the half.
Schreiber tied it up at 15 with a jumper, and a Carter McConnell free throw and Stoppenhagen three put Bluffton up 19-15 with 3:40 left. Then the Cavaliers scored the final 8 points in the quarter to go up 23-19 at half.
The Tigers ended the night shooting 14-of-40 (35 percent). Schreiber joined Stoppenhagen in double figures with 11 points.
The Cavaliers shot 25-of-50 (50 percent), with Nassour following Lewis in the points column with 11, and Russell added 10.
Neither side shot well at the free-throw line, with Bluffton making 8 of 19 attempts and Canterbury 7 of 18.
The Cavaliers advance to face the Adams Central Flying Jets in Friday’s semifinals.
For the Tigers, their season is over.
Their record may not have been pretty, but Grau said there was still a lot of successes amongst the team this season.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our guys,” he said. “Our record may not have been what we wanted it to be, but success isn’t always measured by wins and losses. With this group, there were a lot of successes that no one will ever know about that I’m super proud of and that our coaches are super proud of with these guys. That’s what we are going to carry with us and go forward with because we love these guys, and it was a fun group to be around.”
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CANTERBURY 59, BLUFFTON 42
At Bluffton High School
CANTERBURY (9-14): Devon Lewis 9-19 3-4 22, Ashton Dressler 2-2 0-0 5, Will Russell 5-9 0-5 10, Adam Nassour 4-6 3-6 11, Luke Schlabach 2-5 0-0 4, Eli Pasalich 0-0 0-0 0, Xander Dressler 3-8 1-3 7, Lucas Austin 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 25-50 7-18 59.
BLUFFTON (4-19): Chanceler Baldauf 0-0 0-0 0, Max Stoppenhagen 7-13 2-7 20, Eli Garrett 0-0 0-0 0, Harrison Schreiber 4-12 3-5 11, Sam Baumgartner 1-3 0-2 3, Fletcher Wenger 0-1 0-0 0, Markis Crosbie 0-1 0-0 0, Andrew Hunt 0-0 0-0 0, Hunter Wenger 0-1 0-0 0, Tucker Jenkins 0-2 0-0 0, Carter McConnell 1-3 3-5 5, Andrew Ball 1-4 0-0 3. TOTALS: 14-40 8-19 42.
Canterbury 6 17 16 20 –– 59
Bluffton 7 12 16 7 –– 42
Three-point Goals: Canterbury 2-8 (A. Dressler 1-1, Lewis 1-3, X. Dressler 0-1, Schlabach 0-1, Russell 0-2), Bluffton 6-15 (Stoppenhagen 4-6, Baumgartner 1-2, Ball 1-4, F. Wenger 0-1, Schreiber 0-2). Rebounds: Canterbury 34 (Dressler 8, Nassour 7, Lewis 4, Russell 4, Schlabach 2, Austin 1, A. Dressler 1), Bluffton 26 (McConnell 9, Stoppenhagen 6, Ball 4, Schreiber 4, Jenkins 2, Baumgartner 1). Turnovers: 10, Bluffton 16. Fouls: Canterbury 16, Bluffton 15. Fouled Out: None. Technicals: None.
