Otto-Eldred maintained its undefeated streak Tuesday, defeating Oswayo Valley 66-37. However, OV gave the Terrors a run for their money as they were leading 21-13 at halftime.
“I think our kids played hard,” Oswayo Valley coach Lucas Resig said. “That’s the only thing you can do with a team like this. When you’re outmatched, you have to play your butts off. And I thought we did well tonight, doing that.”
O-E’s Landon Francis scored 18 points, Davey Schenfield and Manning Splain contributed 15 and Shene Thomas poured in 14 points to ensure the scales tipped in O-E’s favor.
Otto-Eldred started off scoring and took a 6-0 run through the first five minutes of the first quarter.
The Terrors’ momentum continued to a 9-2 lead with 1:24 in the quarter before OV turned the tide, sinking back-to-back baskets and adding a three-pointer from Dawson Welch to tie the score 9-9 with 7:08 left in the half.
An OV rally at the two-minute mark saw back-to-back baskets from Isaiah Goode and a successful drive to the basket from Ridge Mesler keying the Green Wave to its 21-13 halftime lead.
“(OV) had a good crowd here and a good environment. They worked exceptionally hard. There’s a lot of growth here at Oswayo Valley, and they keep getting better and better and better. I can definitely see a lot of improvement with what they’re doing here,” said O-E coach Derrick Francis. When asked what was going on in the first half, Francis was to the point.
“They outplayed us, they did everything right and we weren’t executing. I mean, you gotta tip the hat to a team that comes out here and works.”
The Terrors went on a 13-point run to start off the third quarter before OV put additional points on the board. That momentum carried on through the half, with highlights including a three-pointer from Francis with 4:26 on the clock and an additional three from Manning Splain 15 seconds later.
“They were throwing the ball away a little bit, Resig said about Otto-Eldred. “They weren’t getting the ball where they wanted it, and that’s just what you have to do on defense. Trying to do that for 32 minutes, though, is a real task.”
OV added foul shots to stay alive and fought to cut O-E’s lead to six points (36-30) with 1:54 on the clock. However, the Terrors closed out the quarter with another six point run, putting them up 42-32 at the end of the third.
“We talked about everything,” Francis said. “How you [have] to fail at some things to succeed that’s where it goes back to. If you do not work, you’re gonna get beat, period. That’s just how life works.”
O-E continued extending their lead, making the score 52-32 with 5:55 left in the game before OV’s Welch sank a three-point field goal to make it 52-35. OV’s final points of the night were scored by Worthington with 5:06 on the clock. From there, the Terrors took control and scored an additional 14 points to secure the victory.
O-E travels to Cameron County Thursday. Oswayo Valley faces Smethport on Thursday as well.
“We talked about everything,” Francis said. “How you [have] to fail at some things to succeed, that’s where it goes back to. If you do not work, you’re gonna get beat, period. That’s just how life works.”
