SPORTS

Port Clinton falls to Edison in conference play

Matthew Horn
Reporter
Port Clinton's Tytan Rumball looks to shoot Friday.

PORT CLINTON - Redskins coach Von Graffin wants his program where Edison's is.

Port Clinton lost 54-44 in overtime Friday to the visiting eighth-ranked Chargers in the Sandusky Bay Conference. Edison clinched at least a share of the league crown with only Perkins in the way of an outright championship.

Edison finished second in the conference last year following a key home setback to Port Clinton.

"Our team has a ton of character and heart," Chargers coach Kyle Hammond said. "It's been a battle all year to get to this point."

Port Clinton (9-11, 6-5) led 36-31 entering the fourth quarter after Ben Mueller scored off an assist from Ryan Alexander. The Redskins, however, trailed 40-36 after nine-straight points from Edison before Mueller and Joey Brenner made two free throws apiece to force overtime.

Mueller made two free throws to cut the deficit to 46-42 after the Chargers scored the first six points in overtime. Edison (18-2, 10-1) scored the remainder of its points from the line.

"That team is 19-2 for a reason," Graffin said. "We went toe-to-toe with them. We had mental breakdowns at key times in the game. Our man and zone threw them off early. We had a really good start, but eventually you have to make plays. We wanted to slow them down and win the paint.

"Too often, we avoided contact trying to finish. We allowed them to play more aggressive than us."

Port Clinton's Ben Mueller drives Friday as Edison's Marcquez Johnson defends.

Port Clinton scored the first eight points and led 16-4 after one quarter, but a handful of unforced turnovers prevented a larger margin. Edison recorded nine straight points in the second quarter to cut its deficit to 24-21 at the half.

Mueller, who made 9 of 10 free throws, dropped in two after an offensive rebound and Tytan Rumball added an athletic tap-in as the Redskins extended their lead to 36-31 after three quarters. Mueller scored a game-high 17 points.

"This team has grown with Ben Mueller," Graffin said. "He was aggressive and attacked and he guarded hard. I love how hard we played and competed and I'm proud of the growth we've had. We'll do some special things and these guys will be part of it. This is a tough one to stomach."

Brenner, who fought foul trouble, had 12 points and 12 rebounds against Edison, while Rumball also had 12 boards.

Port Clinton won six of its last eight games, including an overtime victory at Clyde this week. Both games provided valuable experience for a team learning to win.

"Our mistakes down the stretch led those games to overtime," Graffin said. "We should have put those games away."

mhorn@gannett.com

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Twitter:@MatthewHornNH

STAT BOOK

Edison 4-17-10-9-14-54

Port Clinton 16-8-12-4-4-44

Edison: 3-point goals: 4. Scoring: Clay Goodwin 1-10-13, Keegan Hall 1-1-4, Marcquez Johnson 3-0-6, Bryce Roberts 3-2-8, Owen Moyer 6-2-16, James Hill 3-1-7. Totals 17-16-54.

Port Clinton: 3-point goals: 0. Scoring: Kaleb Mizener 0-1-1, Ben Mueller 4-9-17, Ryan Alexander 2-0-4, Tytan Rumball 2-0-4, Matt Paeth 0-2-2, Joey Brenner 4-4-12, Stone Scott 2-0-4. Totals 14-16-44.