02-04-06
BY JACK BULLOCK
NASHVILLE - Coming into the Nashville vs. Vandalia matchup at the Nashville Sports Boosters Shootout on Saturday night, there was a heightened anticipation regarding the potential battle between All-State candidates Nashville's 6-foot-6 junior Lucas O'Rear and the Vandals 6-foot-5 junior Eric Hobbie.

Both played well with Hobbie scoring 12-points and O'Rear hitting for 11 in the low scoring affair.

But it was Vandalia guard Blake Doehring that stole the show, and eventually a win for his team Saturday night at Nashville's Assembly Hall.

The 6-foot junior guard scored 16-points, including a 6-of-6 mark from the free throw line, as his Vandals outscored the Hornets 28-18 in the second half to pull out a 43-35 win.

Vandalia mentor Brian Kern credited his junior guard and his teams' defensive effort as the keys to his clubs' 20th win on the season.

"Blake played an outstanding game for us tonight and it was the kind of game where he wanted the ball in his hands down the stretch," said Kern, whose team is now 20-4 on the season.
"He hit the big free throws that we needed tonight. He has played a lot of basketball in his 16-year lifetime and he is a pretty smart ballplayer."

On the other end of the floor, Vandalia used a lot of help defense to keep O'Rear from exploding for a big night.

"Tonight I thought we guarded Lucas (O'Rear) well," added Kern. "And the points that he did get were challenged for the most part. They weren't easy looks at the basket. Holding him down was a significant part of the ballgame. Lucas Benning and some others did a nice job tonight."

In a game that boiled down to each crucial possession, Vandalia made all the right moves in the second half to come up with the win.

The Hornets (18-7) jumped out on top early but never got comfortable offensively on the night.

Nashville's senior guard Todd Kostecki scored five first quarter points to stake the Hornets to a 13-8 lead at the first horn.

On two drives to the basket, the 6-foot senior made impressive moves.

His second one resulted in a conventional three-point play with 1:54 to go when he threw up an off-balanced shot that went in while being fouled by Doehring.

Unfortunately for coach Darin Lee, his club wouldn't score again for the next 6:20 of game clock.

Vandalia mounted a 9-0 run while the Hornets faltered offensively.

Five of the points came from Doehring on a 3-pointer from the left corner and later on a runner in the lane that banked home with 5:22 to go before halftime.

That shot gave Vandalia its first lead 15-13.

O'Rear and Kostecki each scored before the break to give Nashville back the lead.

The 6-foot-6 junior took a lob pass and scored in the paint to tie the game and Kostecki drove down the middle of the lane for a bucket which was the final score of a pedestrian first half that ended at 17-15 Nashville.

Vandalia gradually took control of the matchup in the third quarter, as the Hornets couldn't get many shots to fall.

Hitting just 3-of-12 attempts from the field, Nashville allowed Vandalia to get back the lead late in the period.
Jes Koonce came off the Vandals' bench for some instant offense.

He connected on a 3-pointer from the right wing to give Vandalia back the lead at 19-18 early in the second half.

Nashville got points from Dillon York and Blaine Morris on consecutive offensive trips to take back the lead.

York nailed a 3-pointer from the right corner and Morris hit a pair of free throws to put the score at 26-22 with 2:28 remaining.

However Vandalia showed why they are sitting at 20-wins on the season as they quickly came back.
Hobbie scored twice in a 6-0 run to finish the quarter.

A midrange jumper from the left side of the court and a bank shot from the right blocks, both scores against O'Rear, gave the Vandals a 28-26 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.

York scored twice for Nashville on a shot coming off of a screen and later on a fast break lay in to keep his team temporarily close.

However Vandalia took the lead for good on the strength of a 7-2 run.

Doehring had a hand in five of the points as he connected on a 3-pointer to give the lead back at 31-30.

Then he picked up an assist on a long pass to Koonce on a fast break score.

Vandalia spread the floor on three straight offensive trips and, after Benning hit on 1-of-2 free throws with :37 left, they were in control at 37-30.

O'Rear stepped out and hit a desperation 3-pointer to cut the lead to four.

But as good teams will do, Vandalia hit four consecutive free throws to put the game away.

Doehring scored on a fast break after a miss by the Hornets and a rebound and outlet pass from Koonce just before the buzzer as the Vandals picked up an important non-conference road win.

"We got help from our guard spots tonight on the long rebounds late in the game when they (Nashville) were shooting 3-pointers," Kern added. "Lucas Benning went up and got some key boards for us, too."

Neither club shot the ball well in this defensive struggle, but coach Kern's club made the most of its opportunities forcing Nashville into 13 turnovers on the night while connecting on 13-of-17 free throws.

Vandalia was just 13-of-43 in the contest while Nashville was a bit better at 13-of-36.

Koonce finished with seven points, which followed Doehring (16) and Hobbie (12).

Kostecki matched O'Rear with 11-points for the Hornets.

"We did alright tonight defensively and that was the only thing that kept us in the game," said Nashville head coach Darin Lee. "We have to put the ball in the basket better and we shouldn't have 13 turnovers, we have to limit that. I thought we had some open looks out of our offense and I don't know what else we could have done."

	1	2	3	4	-	Final
Vandalia	8	7	13	15		43
Nashville	13	4	9	9		35

Vandalia (43) - Whightsil 0 0 0-0 0, Koonce 2 1 0-1 7, Bl. Doehring 2 2 6-6 16, Elder 0 0 0-0 0, Benning 1 0 1-2 3, Br. Doehring 0 0 5-6 5, Sheilds 0 0 0-0 0, Hobbie 4 1 1-2 12.
2FG-9, 3FG-4, FT-13-17, PF-12.
Nashville (35) - Reckman 1 0 0-0 2, Morris 0 0 2-2 2, Engele 0 0 0-0 0, Kostecki 4 0 3-3 11, Patton 0 0 0-0 0, York 3 1 0-0 9, O'Rear 3 1 2-4 11, Keller 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-11, 3FG-2, FT-7-9, PF-13.
Fouled Out - None.
Technical Fouls - None.