LIMA – The Bluffton High School swim squads qualified seven swimmers and four relay teams to the district meet with strong showings in the Div. II sectionals at the Lima YMCA on February 8.
Pirate junior Jackson Bowlus won the boys 50-yard freestyle (22.12), and he also captured first in the 100 backstroke (54.64).
Junior Jenna Downey touched second in the 100 butterfly (62.8), and came in fourth in the 50 freestyle (25.39).
Senior Xavier Diller took fourth in the 100 butterfly (57.2).
The Pandora-Gilboa High School boy’s basketball team hosted Ada on February 7 for a Blanchard Valley Conference battle. P-G fell behind early and never recovered, losing by a final of 50-21.
The Bulldogs (13-7) jumped out to an early 14-2 lead after one quarter of play. P-G woke up in quarter number two and was able to gain some momentum, outscoring Ada 11-10 and closing the gap to 24-13 heading into halftime.
BLUFFTON – The Bluffton High School boys basketball team lost 52-42 to visiting Northwest Conference rival Columbus Grove on February 7.
The Pirates fell to 12-7 overall and 2-4 in the NWC with their third loss in a row. Columbus Grove improved to 9-7 overall and 5-1 in NWC play after the victory.
The Pirates trailed 18-12 after the first period. After a second stanza where Marek Donaldson buried two triples, Bluffton inched within 26-23 at halftime.
The Bulldogs captured the third period 13-9 to take a 39-32 advantage heading into the final quarter.
Grove also won the fourth period 13-10 to triumph by 10. CG outscored Bluffton 26-19 in the second half.
Pirate guard Donaldson led the Pirates with 12 points on four three-point goals. Blake Sommers netted 11 markers, including five in the third quarter. Bean Ginther tallied five of his seven points in the final period.
