By Matt M. Stutz
The Pandora-Gilboa Rockets welcomed Putnam County League rival Columbus Grove to the Launch Pad for a mid-week match-up for State Route 12 bragging rights. The Rockets found themselves down ten points late in the third quarter, but battled all the way back, to sneak away with a hard fought 46-43 PCL win.
P-G looked frustrated from the start down 13-9 after one quarter of play and 27-22 at the half as Grove seemed to make everything they shot. P-G’s Aidan Harris hit a 3-pointer the halftime buzzer to get the Rockets within five or the deficit would have been worse.
P-G would eventually fall behind by as many as ten, 37-27 with about 1:10 left on the third quarter clock. From there, P-G ended the game outscoring the Bulldogs 19-6, including a 7-0 run to end the third quarter climbing to within three points at 37-34 by the start the fourth quarter.
Early in the fourth, P-G’s Owen Huffman made the crowd roar, as he came off the bench to hit a huge three-pointer from the corner to finally tie things up at thirty-seven. Twenty-two seconds later a Colin Harris layup with 6:08 left in the game gave P-G their first lead of the game at 39-37. Three lead changes and two ties later, an Aidan Morris layup put P-G ahead to stay at 45-43 with under one minute remaining.
Aidan Harris was the only Rockets to reach double digits, leading the offensive output with 16 points. Nate Maag finished with 7 points coming off the bench, followed by Aidan Morris’s 6 points. Derek Maag and Owen Huffman each dropped in 5 points as Jake Maag and Colin Harris both finished with 3 points a-piece. Zach Neuschenwander closed out the Rocket scoring, hitting a shot in the lane for his 2 points.
The Rockets (14-3, 6-1 BVC, 3-2 PCL) will ride their three-game winning streak into Liberty-Benton (16-1, 7-0 BVC) this Friday night Feb. 3rd for a highly anticipated match-up. The game will have Blanchard Valley Conference title implications on the line. A P-G win can force a 3-way tie atop the standings with Arlington; with just one week remaining in conference play.
