TONTOGANY — Eastwood’s boys basketball team out-dueled Otsego from start to finish to pick up a 48-29
Northern Buckeye Conference road win Friday night.
Eastwood won several key battles as its defense forced 24 turnovers, which led to a 22-10 advantage in
points off turnovers.
Noah Smith had two steals and fast-break layups in the first quarter that helped Eastwood start the game
on a 6-0 run and take a four-point lead at the end of the quarter.
Smith and his teammates forced eight first-quarter turnovers and scored eight of their 10 points in the
quarter off turnovers.
The turnovers frustrated Otsego offensively en route to a 3-for-14 finish in the opening frame.
“(Smith’s) on-the-ball defense was really solid,” said Eastwood head coach Matt Routson, who saw his team
improve to 5-2 overall and 1-2 in the NBC. “We talked about pressuring the basketball and being
aggressive on the ball. He got touches and was disruptive and that’s what we kind of look for him to be
defensively.”
In the second quarter, Otsego (2-6, 1-2) cut its turnover total in half, but Eastwood started to take
over in the post. Jason Fertig went 5-for-5 from the field as Eastwood finished 7-for-14 as a team and
eventually took a 10-point lead into the break.
After an even third quarter, Eastwood turned it up to begin the fourth. It scored the first eight points
of the quarter to open an 18-point lead with 5:01 left. The Eagles led by as many as 21 down the
stretch.
In addition to Smith’s play getting his team going, the paint presence of Fertig, Zach Jacoby and a
little bit of Tim Hoodlebrink helped the Eagles dominate the post, offensively and defensively.
Jacoby and Fertig combined for 24 points (12 each), 11 rebounds and two blocks, while Hoodlebrink added
three blocks and four steals along with his four points.
“We got really solid play from our big guys tonight,” Routson said. “Rotations were good, and that’s
where they’re getting their blocks. They’re rotating. They’re seeing the ball. They’re doing what
they’re supposed to be doing, and they did it really well tonight.”
In large part to that trio, the Eagles finished with a 32-16 advantage in scoring in the paint, including
a 22-10 advantage in the first half.
Despite getting out-rebounded 35-27, Eastwood shot 20-for-47 (42.6 percent) from the field and committed
nine fewer turnovers than the opposition. Otsego finished 13-for-47 (27.7 percent) from the field.
“We just wanted to play solid and be aggressive,” Routson said. “We got a lead and started to stretch it
out. I’m proud of the effort we had tonight. Otsego plays hard and this is always a tough place to
play.”
Jacoby and Fertig were the lone two players in the game to score in double figures, although Smith added
seven points and three steals for Eastwood.
Hunter Carson had a team-high eight points for Otsego, and Josh Horseman had a team-high 10 rebounds.
“We were just really careless with the ball,” said Otsego head coach Jim Bostdorff. “We talked in
timeouts that they were up in the passing lanes and we needed to backcut, and our kids just didn’t get
it done. We’re young and we’re learning.”
Eastwood won the junior varsity game 33-14. Ryan Reiter’s 12 points led the Eagles.
EASTWOOD 48, OTSEGO 29
EASTWOOD
Smith, 2-1-0—7; Boos, 2-0—4; Jacoby, 4-4—12; Coffman, 0-1-2—5; Fertig, 6-0—12; DeWese, 1-0—2;
Hoodlebrink, 2-0—4; Orcutt, 1-0—2. TOTALS: 18-2-6—48.
OTSEGO
Varner, 2-1—5; Vollmar, 0-1—1; Horseman, 3-0—6; Carson, 4-0—8; Maher, 2-1-0—7; Jon Brown, 1-0—2. TOTALS:
12-1-2—29.
EASTWOOD 10 17 9 12 —48
OTSEGO 6 11 9 3 —29
Junior varsity: Eastwood, 33-14.