2015 is the winningest season for Wayne Trace Boys Basketball Program after defeating Delphos St. John’s in the Regional Championship game.
It’s getting close for the Wayne Trace Raiders. They started the lead at Bowling Green on Friday evening, March 20th, against the Bluejays with a three point basket by Luke Miller. Quickly Delphos fell behind and never saw the lead in their favor.
PICTURE: Ethan Linder shown breaking the free-throw shots record in one season at Wayne Trace with 144 at the Bowling Green
It was the first quarter that took a while to get in gear while the Raiders ran up and down the court, almost tripling the first quarter of their opponents. In the last couple of minutes,
St. John’s made a recovery and narrowed the lead of their opponents.
For the Raiders, the points are much more rounded than the first regional game were Ethan Linder scored 44 points alone.
The second period got underway with Alex Odenweller of the Bluejays nailing three baskets in a row and hitting 15 points in that period alone. He scored 20 altogether, but only in the first half.
This second period for Wayne Trace reversed the trend set in the first period and the Raiders scored only 14 points. Cole Shepherd had a great quarter this time, scoring 6 points from under the basket. By halftime the Raiders were still holding the lead at 32-36, now down to a four point match.
During the third quarter, the Raiders helped stop the bleeding of their score. The Bluejays got within 2 points by the end of this period. At one point they even tied the lead, but they never got further than that.
The Raiders got their groove back in the fourth quarter and piled on 19 points. It wasn’t difficult when the other team decided to start fouling in the last few minutes to try and gain possession of the ball, but it was not successful and Raiders claimed the title. During this last period Corbin Linder fouled out of the game. He was the only player who did. This is the first Regional title in seven years for Wayne Trace – since 2008.
The Raiders will play Canal Winchester Harvest Prep in the Division IV state final four on Thursday, March 26, at 10:45 a.m. The game will be played at Value City Arena on the campus of The Ohio State University.
More records have been broken this year for the Raiders boys basketball team. Even with missing two games for weather, Wayne Trace’s 25th win in the regional championship set a new school record for victories in one season. The old record was 24, accomplished three times (1986-1987, 1990-1991 and 2000-2001).
According to Kevin Wannemacher, School statistician, Senior guard Corbin Linder has eclipsed the school record for three-point field goal attempts. Linder is now at 199 attempts for the season, breaking the old mark of 193 set by Nathan Overmyer in the 1992-1993 season. Additional, Sophomore Ethan Linder also has broken the free throw records for both made and attempted in a season. Ethan is currently 144 of 173 on the season, breaking the old record of 131 made by Rob Welch (1992-1993) and 163 attempted by Chris Shepherd (2000-2001).
Score by the Quarter:
Delphos St. John’s: 11 21 12 12 = 56
Wayne Trace: 22 14 10 19 = 65
Scorers of the Game:
Wayne Trace: Arend 5, Miller 11, E Linder 14, Shepherd 6, C Linder 12, Sinn 15, Speice 2
Delphos St. Johns: Grothouse 18; Hays 8, Conley 6, Odenweller 20, Keeger 4.
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Raiders Skid to Final 8 After 6 Periods
Cole Shepherd scores both shots after Plymouth’s Tyrell Edmiston fouls out of the game in the fourth quarter. More pictures at westbendnews.net
The Raiders struck gold on Tuesday, March 17 at the University stadium in Bowling Green. Without a doubt this was the closest game the Raiders have played all season and for good reason: This team from Plymouth had the same record, 23-1.
Wayne Trace took the guests’ seats in this match while the Vikings called this home. This match started with Plymouth dominating the first quarter. The Raiders were struggling and it didn’t look good. Shot after shot, either blocked or missed for a score of only seven points, while the Vikings posted 18.
The second period began and it was the revival for the Paulding County team, though they weren’t able to tie the game until the third, this one set the standard for the rest of the game. Ethan Linder was overloading the scoreboard and he held well under pressure. This game was fast paced from the beginning through the half. This quarter finished 24-29 and the Raiders were back in the game.
The the third period was the comeback kids’ time for reentry. Second period’s momentum carried over in this one and it turned out to be the highest of either team in the game. Corbin Linder was the second highest scorer for the team. He was able to hit three point baskets but only two for the whole game. Wayne Trace took the lead back and finished the third quarter, 45-42.
The Raiders increased the lead a little more in the fourth quarter, but soon Tyson Beebe of Plymouth began turning the momentum back to the home team as they began eating away at the Raider. With seconds left, both sides were vying for control of the court. The Vikings were certainly not ready to hand over their battle axe to the stumbling team of the first quarter, they came back to tie the game in the last seconds sending the game into overtime.
Overtime became scary when Tyler Tayler and Tyrell Edmiston took the lead back by six over the Raiders. It looked like it was all over for the Paulding County Team. Not so, between David Sinn and Ethan Linder they were able to once again check the game temperature and increase it by a few degrees. The game was back on and Linder tied the game again. The ball went back to the Vikings and they got the last chance to score but when push came to shove, Edmiston missed. The game went to a second overtime to the screaming of 3,000 Wayne Trace fans.
This time energy stayed with the Raider Nation. Tyrell, the player who kept Wayne Trace in check, fouled out when Cole Shepherd went for the lay up. He struck him hard and the game was sealed for Wayne Trace. Cole scored both free-throw shots.
It can’t be ignored looking at the tally of scores: Ethan Linder had an amazing 44 point game. He nearly reached the school record of 47. These points are not possible though without great teamwork and a lot of training and good coaching.
Score by the Quarter:
Wayne Trace: 7 17 21 11 5 15 = 76
Plymouth: 18 11 13 14 5 7 = 68
Scorers of the Game:
Wayne Trace: Miller 4, E Linder 44, Shepherd 4, C Linder 14, Sinn 4, Arend 4, Speice 2
Plymouth: Tayler 13, Collins 3, Bailey2, Beebe 28, Edmiston 14, Remington 2, Nester 6.
