By Matt M. Stutz
The Pandora-Gilboa High School boys basketball team ended their run in the OHSAA Division IV tournament play on Tuesday, March 12 in a regional semi-final matchup. The Rockets played Toledo Christian (26-1) at The Stroh Center on the campus of Bowling Green State University. P-G (23-3) played from behind most of the game, made it close in the end but came up short; losing to the Eagles by a final of 51-43.
In a physical battle, the Rockets trailied 14-6 early in the second period. Including a pair of back-to-back 3-pointers by senior Aiden Harris, P-G went on a 12-3 run to take their first lead at 18-17 with 3:19 left before halftime. The lead was short lived; the Rockets were down 22-20 at the halftime intermission.
Byhe halfway point of the 3rd quarter and early into the 4th quarter, P-G found themselves in too deep of a hole.
In the pivotal 3rd quarter, P-G knotted the score at 22-22 and 24-24 before Toledo Christian went on the biggest run of the night, a 17-5 push that spilled over into the 4th quarter.
The Rockets faced their biggest deficit of the night down 41-29. But with 5:17 left in the game P-G had one last attempt to steal the win. Following a Colin Harris shot at the rim, an Aiden Harris trifecta, another Aiden Harris layup-and-one, capped off by an Aidan Morris bucket; P-G got to within four at 43-39 with just 2:05 left. The Eagles connected on eight free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
Senior Aiden Harris played a spectacular final game, overcoming first quarter foul trouble to finish with a game high 21 points and game high 10 rebounds. Aidan Morris scattered his scoring throughout finishing with 8 points. Colin Harris tallied 6 points, Nate Walker came off the bench to score 4 points, while Nate Maag and Owen Huffman each finished with 2 points a-piece.
Seven Rocket seniors played their final game in the Regional semi-finals, a height only three Rocket teams have attained (1999 and 2018).
The 23 wins this season are second highest in school history, following only the historic Final Four run of 2018. P-G was able to claim both the BVC and PCL Championships. They then became Sectional Champions, and finally District Champions. Thanks to the seniors: twins Aiden and Colin Harris, Aidan Morris, Nate Maag, Owen Huffman, Zach Neuenschwander, and Tanner Leichty for the memories.
1 2 3 4 F
P-G 06 14 06 17 43
Tol.Christian 10 12 13 16 51
