The Rossford Bulldogs improved their record to 112 as they ousted the Onsted Wildcats in the MLK Showcase event held at Rossford on January 16. The matchup pitted several of the area’s best teams against each other.

Rossford played in the final game of the day against an Onsted team that had only lost once on the year. Billed as a ‘Battle of the Big Men,’ it featured two of the best post players in the region, Rossford’s Derek Vorst and Onsted’s Ayden Davis. The contest proved to be physical throughout, but Vorst and his Bulldog teammates stood up to the challenge. They used 8 of 17 threepoint shooting to get out to an early lead and never looked back.

Brenden Revels hit for a triple from the top of the key following the opening tip. After an Onsted pass sailed into the crowd, Garette Murphree dialed up another Bulldog three. A couple possessions later, Davis went to the line and hit one of two shots to put the Wildcats on the board.

The next trip up the floor, it was Vorst stepping out behind the arc for a trey. A Bulldog steal led to a score by Revels, forcing an Onsted timeout.

The Wildcats responded after the timeout, but Rossford quickly tallied threes from Revels and Murphree. Onsted cut into the lead when they scored two lay ups on the backside of the RHS defense. The Bulldogs struck for three again when Revels hit the corner off the assist from Vorst. Wes Ellison finished the Bulldog scoring in the quarter after hitting a deep ball from the other corner.

Leading 23-11, the Bulldogs continued to defend, forcing long possessions for the Wildcats, who struggled to get the ball to their big man. Still, Davis came out strong and added two layups to open the second quarter. After the teams traded trips to the free throw line, Rossford’s Jake Morrison drove the lane and dished it off to Vorst, who threw it down for the slam. Two possessions later, Morrison drove the lane for two.

Davis worked hard inside for two for the Wildcats, but the Bulldogs came up strong at the end of the half when Revels hit two free throws and followed it up with a trey. On the defensive end, Vorst swatted a dunk attempt by Davis, and Rossford carried a 34-22 lead into the locker rooms.

In the third period, the Bulldogs outscored the Wildcats 20-4. They stretched the lead to 20 after Murphree added two straight threes. Onsted took a full timeout to stem the run, but for the Bulldogs there was no letting up. Morrison grabbed a defensive rebound and threw it long to Revels, who scored the lay up and added a foul shot after he was hacked hard.

Following a defensive stop, Vorst scored in transition and on the next break Brandon Swope drove baseline but kicked it out to Murphree for a corner triple to finish the quarter with a commanding lead, 54-26.

The fourth quarter opened with another dunk by Vorst. Onsted reeled off a 6-0 run before Vorst made two trips to the line and connected on all four shots. At 2:4,1 with the game in hand, the Bulldogs went to a reserve lineup. They traded shots with the Wildcats down the stretch with Blake Dewey and Dylan McCann each scoring on a layup.

After the game, Head Coach Brian Vorst commented, “We played well defensively, and we did a nice job sharing the ball. I also thought Brenden [Revels] and Jake [Morrison] really took the ball to the hole.”

The Bulldogs took care of the basketball all night, only committing one turnover on the evening and going for nearly a threeminute stretch in the fourth quarter where they simply ran half-court offense and time off the clock.

Vorst and Davis were both named as their respective team’s MVP for the showcase. Davis finished the game with 15 points, and Vorst recorded his third straight double-double with 17 points and 11 boards. He added four assists and five blocked shots.

Revels, however, was not to be out-done. The senior guard hit four of five from three-point range and was perfect from the free throw line as he finished the night with a game-high 23 points. Shooting guard Murphree hit for double figures as well and finished with 15.