On February 9, the Rossford varsity boys basketball team traveled to Wauseon for what was a clash between two of the foremost powers in northwest Ohio.
The undefeated Bulldogs entered the game with a 17-0 record, and the Indians brought a 15-2 record as the league leaders in the NWOAL.
Rossford finally prevailed 58-43, relying on free throw-shooting down the stretch to pull away.
The game featured two completely different styles of basketball with Wauseon trying to control the pace and Rossford trying to up the tempo.
Both squads brought a disciplined, aggressive approach to defense. Wauseon has held most opponents under 50 points per game, and RHS’ defense usually creates 10 steals and nearly 20 turnovers a game.
After the win, Head Coach Brian Vorst commented that his team was “real gutsy.”
“Wauseon is a tough place to play and they are a very good basketball team. Our kids reacted to that very well,” he said. “Wauseon likes to control the tempo. We like to play fast, and it was all about who could exert their will.”
The two teams began the game by trading baskets. Rossford rallied from an early deficit to hold a slim 13-12 first quarter lead.
In the first quarter, both teams shot better than 50 percent–a trend that continued into the second quarter. The Bulldogs began to pull away by taking a 28-23 lead into the intermission.
The Rossford pressure forced Wauseon out of their comfort zone and into playing Bulldog style, allowing them to increase their lead to a nine-point margin at the end of the third.
Down the stretch, Rossford hit 12 of 17 free throws in the second half to extend the lead and claim the victory.
The Bulldogs drained 20 of 36 shots from the field for 55.6 percent and out-rebounded the Indians 24-13.
Vorst believes that facing a team of Wauseon’s caliber helps his players, especially at this point when they are looking ahead to the tournament.
“A lot of it is experience,” he noted. “It’s about being in those tight games against a quality opponent where you need to make plays or you’re going to lose. Our kids didn’t bat an eye. They stepped up and made plays.”
The Bulldogs posted four players in double figures with senior Jamari Croom leading the team with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Croom was five for five from the field.
Ben Morrison and Derek Vorst added 11 points, and point guard CamRon Gaston contributed 10.
The Bulldogs continued to roll the next night, hosting Genoa for the last regular season home game. This was the last NBC game for Rossford, who already had clinched their second straight league championship the previous weekend with a victory over Lake.
The Comets brought a scrappy defensive scheme that occasionally forced the Bulldogs into some bad shots. But even though the offense didn’t click at its usual pace, Rossford leaned on its defensive prowess to shut down the visitors, 49-24.
The win allowed the home team to finish undefeated in the league and avenge a late season loss last year to the Comets that served as the only blemish on the Rossford league record. RHS has a 26-1 league tally spanning the last two seasons.
In the first quarter, the Bulldogs looked like they might run away with it early.
The Comets had no response for the inside game of Croom who scored four points in the quarter. He was one of four Bulldogs to score in the period giving RHS an 11-2 lead after the opening frame.
Croom started the scoring in the second quarter as well with a strong drive to the rim. After a missed shot by the Comets, he scored in transition and drew the foul for an and-one. Four possessions later,
Four possessions later, Gaston threw long to Morrison for another transition basket before Genoa finally responded with a 7-0 flurry that allowed them to close the gap to 19-11 before the half.
In the third, Croom again opened the scoring, this time he put back a missed jumper. Gaston snatched a loose ball and dribbled ahead of the Comet defense to cruise in for the layup.
After a pair of Genoa free throws, sophomore Derek Vorst gained position and tipped in a missed shot.
On the defensive end, Gaston grabbed a steal and flung it downcourt to a streaking Morrison. The pass went a little long, but Nic Borojevich tight-roped the baseline and tipped the ball back in to Morrison, who converted the layup.
This forced a Genoa timeout with Rossford leading 27-13. The Bulldogs added another basket from Borojevich off an assist by Gaston, and they added a lone free throw by Vorst to finish the third quarter up 30-14.
The Bulldogs started the final period with Vorst at the line for two free throws, and a Jake Morrison steal resulted in a score by Gaston.
The teams traded baskets for a stretch, but the Comets, battling the clock and the Bulldogs, couldn’t get a good look at the basket. They simply didn’t have enough possessions to catch up.
Croom’s presence inside kept the pressure on the Genoa defense, and the RHS defense continued to force the Comets into one shot per possession.
With just over three minutes remaining, Rossford held a 43-22 lead.
Out of a Genoa timeout, Borojevich nailed a threeball, and another steal by Gaston helped send Borojevich to the free throw stripe.
Rossford then emptied its bench. The reserve lineup added one more bucket when Brandon Swope scored in transition off an assist from Garrett Murphree to punctuate the victory.
The Rossford defense really won the night. No Comets scored in double figures and they shot just 25 percent for the game on 8 for 32 shooting.
Rossford came up with 14 steals and forced 17 Genoa turnovers.
“Defensively, we did a good job,” Coach Vorst said. “We had four games in a sixday stretch. The kids responded well and showed their toughness, even though they were a little tired.”
Rossford for the second straight night hit more than 70 percent from the free throw line in the second half.
Although the scoring output was not typical of their efforts, the strategy was enough to earn the win.
Croom was 6 for 10 from the field to lead all scorers with 18 points. He was the sole Bulldog in double figures, but Gaston added nine points and four steals. Borojevich added eight points and four rebounds to the cause.
“Offensively, we missed some shots, but during this stretch, we played some good basketball teams, and I feel like we did well,” Vorst added.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs suffered their first loss of the season when they traveled to Cleveland to play St. Ignatius, historically part of the upper echelon in Division I high school basketball. It was the first meeting
It was the first meeting between the schools, and the St. Ignatius Wildcats were a little too much for Rossford, winning 61-48.
This is the only loss of the season for the Bulldogs, who finished the regular season with a 19-1 overall record.
The Wildcats boasted a tall, athletic lineup like none the visitors have played so far, and it was obvious at the onset that the size difference would test the Bulldogs.
St. Ignatius was up 6-0 before Rossford even put up a shot. On that first shot, Ben Morrison hit a threepointer from the corner.
But after two more Wildcat possessions, the lead grew to 12-3.
After a timeout, Rossford made an attempt to cut into the advantage. Luc Borojevich hit a three from the top of the key. Brother Nic Borojevich made one of two free throws, and Morrison scored on a jumper at the buzzer as RHS trailed 14-9 at the end of the first.
Nic Borojevich followed up a missed shot for a basket, and completed the oldfashioned three-point play at the line to open the scoring in the second quarter.
St. Ignatius proceeded to roll off a 12-0 run by taking advantage of uncharacteristic Rossford turnovers.
A traveling call slowed the tempo for St. Ignatius, and two straight triples from Morrison pulled the game to within five.
But a Wildcat buzzer beater pushed the lead to seven as the game broke for intermission.
St. Ignatius opened the second half with an 8-2 run with the only Rossford basket coming on a strong inside move from Gavin Dewese.
On an inbound play, finding no one open, Gaston bounced the ball off a Wildcat defender.
The defender reacted by aggressively throwing the ball off the wall and was called for a technical foul. Nic Borojevich hit the two free throws that followed.
The Bulldogs tried to keep pace after a Wildcat three-point play. Vorst drew a charging call and went down on the offensive set and knocked down a threepoint basket.
After a drive to the basket by Morrison, Vorst brought some defense by blocking a Wildcat shot.
This turn of events led to two more free throws by Borojevich. Still, the Wildcat lead was 42-34 at the end of the third quarter.
Vorst scored inside off an assist from Morrison to open the fourth quarter. After a trip to the line for St. Ignatius, Gaston carved his way through the lane for a layup.
Again Rossford was able to get within striking distance, but not close enough. St. Ignatius went on an 11-1 streak.
Time became critical for a Rossford team that was clearly running out of possessions.
Vorst tossed inside to Croom, who scored to put an end to the St. Ignatius streak.
But with the clock being a factor, Rossford put the Wildcats on the line. They responded by hitting 9 for 9 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter. This allowed them to pull away and hand Rossford its first loss of the season.
After the game, Coach Vorst was upbeat about the Rossford effort.
“The kids played hard,” he said. “Once we got out of the first couple minutes, we played more aggressive, which is what we needed to do.”
“It’s a great opportunity to play a team like St. Ignatius, and our kids battled against one of the premier programs in the state.”
Vorst believes that despite the loss, the game provides them with valuable experience for a tournament run. “We got exactly what we
“We got exactly what we signed up for,” he said. “We played a top-notch opponent that could be in the final four. We needed to see how we stacked up against competition like that, and we stood toe to toe with them.
“A game like this will let us see areas where we are deficient so we can find ways to correct them before the tournament. They are the kind of team we need to face if we are going to achieve the goals we want to achieve.”
Rossford struggled to score most of the game. They only shot 40 percent from the field for the game on 17 of 37 shooting.
Meanwhile St. Ignatius took advantage of second chance points as they controlled the offensive boards. Rossford managed just 14 rebounds for the game.
In spite of their struggles, the Bulldogs still placed two players in double figures. Nic Borojevich led the team with 17 points and Ben Morrison added 13.
With the regular season finished, the Bulldogs will be a number one seed in the tournament. The honor earns them a bye in the first round.
They will not play again until February 26 when they face the winner of Maumee vs. Rogers.
Due to COVID-19 protocols, sectional games will be played at higher seed home sites, so Rossford will host their first tournament game.
The game can be seen on Toledo Sports Network. See the rossfordschools.org website for the link.