The Pandora-Gilboa High School boys basketball team celebrated Senior night in grand fashion Thursday night, February 17. The Rockets honored seven senior basketball players and their parents in front of the home crowd at the Launch Pad prior to tip-off. The boys then went out and earned a share of the 2022 Putnam County League title with a convincing 48-36 win over visiting Continental.
P-G lost the tip-off but both teams were slow out of the gate, struggling to make shots. The Rockets eventually took an early 3-0 lead and led the entire game. P-G led just 7-3 after eight minutes of action and the lead grew to 22-12 by halftime.
Senior Ryan Johnson was the lone Rocket reaching double figures, leading the way offensively with 10 points. Classmate Dillon Krohn was right behind him, finishing with 9 points; Krohn knocked down three 3-pointers, all in the first half.
The Rockets took control of the game in the third quarter, building their biggest advantage at 40-21 before Continental trimmed the deficit to 40-26 heading into the fourth quarter. The visitors got within ten points late in the contest.
Sophomore Aidan Harris chipped in 7 points for P-G, while his twin brother Colin added 6. Senior Sam Norton netted 5 points, while fellow senior Maxwell Wilson hit a three pointer. Senior Will Huffman tallied 2 on a layup, Junior Ethan Luginbill hit two free throws, Senior Eli Huffman added 2 points, and sophomore Aidan Morris closed out the scoring with 2 points. Senior Joel Stall played valuable minutes in the first and second halves contributing to the win.
With the victory, P-G will share the 2022 Putnam County League title with Leipsic and Ottoville; each finished with identical 5-2 records. P-G last won the PCL title outright during the 2017-18 season, when they finished undefeated in league play.
Next up, P-G will host their final regular season contest Saturday, February 19 against Liberty-Benton (a make-up game).
As the #4 seed, P-G will begin tournament action at 5:30 p.m. on February 22 in the Van Wert Sectional. The Rockets will play their PCL rival #5 Miller City, a team the Rockets beat earlier in the regular season.
