SATURDAY, MARCH 18, 2000

Calvert's season ends short of Columbus

By Dave Feltner
Sports Editor

TOLEDO -- Watching Fort Jennings shoot 36 percent from the field in the first half had all the feel of being strapped to a chair while a time bomb ticks away in front of your eyes.

You just know the darn thing's going to explode at some time.

Sure enough, the Musketeers did. And as a result Calvert was rudely awakened from its dream of a state tournament appearance after a crushing 67-61 loss in the regional finals at Savage Hall.

Fort Jennings connected on 61 percent (14 of 23) from the field in the second half, and hit three 3-pointers in the third quarter to gain just enough cushion for the stretch run.

"It's difficult to guard five guys who can shoot the basketball from outside," said Calvert coach Tony Mass, whose team finishes 22-3. "That was a great concern of ours coming into the ballgame. They had five guys who could shoot the 3, and shoot it pretty well. You can do some different things defensively if there's only even three out there, but to have five guys that can shoot it is a great weapon."

The chief suspects were Kevin Grothause and Matt Metzger, who combined for 39 points and 22 rebounds. Grothause knocked down 5-of-8 3-pointers on his way to 21 points, while Metzger poured in 18 points and pulled down 17 rebounds.

As a team, the Musketeers (22-3) were 7-of-21 from 3-point range, including 3-of-7 in the second half.

"We've shot poorly in games before. One game we were 0-of-18 from 3-point range," Metzger said. "So we've shot bad before, but we knew if we kept shooting it would go in the hole. We'd find it. It was kind of nice shooting that low of a percentage and being in the ballgame at (the end of the first half)."

The Muskies were ahead, in fact, at the break, 31-30. But they got control immediately in the second half when Grothause slipped behind a pair of screens and knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key off an inbounds play.

He added another 3 a minute later for a 39-32 advantage, and Metzger later dropped in a 3-ball to give Fort Jennings a 52-46 lead at the end of the third.

Calvert's leading scorer at that time was center Kevin Lucius with 16 points, but Lucius only played a few more minutes in the fourth before taking a spot on the bench the final four minutes of the game.

"At that point in the game, if you look at what Metzger was doing inside, he had Kevin's number," Mass said. "He was able to do the up-and-under on him a few times, so we wanted to go with a smaller, but quicker lineup to try to flick the ball away or get a trap on him because he was causing quite a few problems for us in that situation."

The Senecas managed to shave the deficit to two points (58-56) with 2:45 remaining after Dustyn Risner posted up for a bucket in the lane. But the Muskies broke away quickly and got a layup from Kyle Liebrecht, who turned a foul into a three-point play and a 63-56 advantage.

That all but exhausted any chances the Senecas may have had.

"They just seemed to have an answer for about everything we did tonight," Mass said. "Especially in terms of what you might call the big shot. We were pretty much even in terms of field goals. We were even in 3-pointers, we hung in there with a great 3-point shooting team, but it seemed like they hit every big shot, every important one. We seemed to miss whenever we needed a big one. And in a close game like this, that's why they call them big shots because they mean a lot."

Scott Gasser finished with 13 points to back Grothause and Metzger. Liebrecht scored 11.

Joe Harvey had 12 for the Senecas and Nate Keller 10.

Harvey and Risner combine for more than 33 points per game, but had just four between them at halftime.

"We showed a little more patience in the second half. I don't think we shot as many 3s," Fort Jennings coach John Von Sossan said. "I tell these guys all year long that we're a 3-point shooting team, and they know that. But we had to attack other areas to get some success. At some point in the second half we got that message across to the kids. (Calvert) spread us out with that 2-3 trap so that middle was open, and we had to get the ball in there."

The Musketeers, who are making their first state tourney appearance after four regional tries, will take on Berlin Hiland in the state semifinals. The other semifinal pits St. Henry against defending state champion Worthington Christian.

"I've told people all along there are a lot better coaches out there than me," Von Sossan said. "But they don't have the luxury of having the kids I have right here.

"These kids shot poorly in the first half, but we've been a good shooting team all year," he said. "I knew they'd eventually fall for us."

Tick, tick, tick...