Oak Harbor, the co-champion of the Bay Division of Sandusky Bay Conference, plays Toledo Woodward on Tuesday night in a division II sectional semifinal at Genoa High School.

The Rockets (18-3) beat Port Clinton (67-41) last Friday and Edison (74-34) on Saturday to share the title with Willard.

Coach Eric Sweet says they are really playing well right now. “That is something we talked to the team about (Sunday) and (Monday.) There are two ways to come into the tournament, either you are playing your best basketball or you are not playing your best basketball. The beauty about high school basketball is everybody get a fresh, clean slate. Nobody cares what your record was last week anymore starting (Tuesday) because if you are healthy and you believe in yourself and you are playing good basketball you have a chance to win some games and maybe win a sectional championship and get yourself in a district final and things like that,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “We had a great regular season, we are confident right now, we have bene playing good basketball. We are shooting the basketball well. So, we are excited for the tournament to start. Tuesday night is our first game and we are really looking forward to it.”

Woodward (8-12) tied for fourth place in the Toledo City League. They lost (54-52) to Fostoria in a non-conference game last Wednesday.

Sweets says the Polar Bears have some athleticism and some shooting they will have contend with. “They have a nice point guard, quick athletic kid, more of a driver than a shooter, so we are prepared for his quickness up front. They have a shooter on the wing that will shoot it from about anywhere on the court. The volleyball line is in his range right now. So, we know we have to pressure up on him and not give him any easy looks. Then they just have some nice role pieces. They have some nice post players that are tall and athletic looking, long and they can rebound the basketball,” said Sweet.

Defensively, they have to keep Woodward from penetrating and they have to rebound, according to Sweet. “If we can get a body on them early, I think we can get them off their path and we will be able to rebound the basketball. Probably the biggest key for us is keeping the basketball in front of us and keeping them off the glass. If we do those two things and shoot the ball well we hopefully can come out with a win,” he said.

Published 2/25/20

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Oak Harbor knows what it has to do to earn no less than a co-title in the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division.

They have to beat Port Clinton on Friday and Edison on Saturday.

They share the lead right now with Willard, who plays at home against Margaretta on Friday.

Coach Eric Sweet says they understand their assignment. “It is a very simple target in front of us. We know what we have to do. There is nothing we need help with. As long as we take care of the weekend and take care of both teams on Friday and Saturday night, that’s unique, because we are the only ones playing a double weekend, outside of Edison of course. We are playing Saturday night because of football. If we take care of the weekend, win both of them, we are co-champions with Willard. We have put ourselves in great position to do that and we are excited about the weekend to come,” said Sweet.

With a double weekend this week, Sweets says it has been important for them to make sure the kids are ready to play eight quarters of basketball. “We are trying to keep our kids fresh. If you know our team, we are very heavy with football players from that great football run that we had. So, we are trying to keep them fresh and keep their legs loose and I think it is paying off for us because the last two games here we have shot the ball extremely well, I would say maybe the last three,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “There still comes a time when you get a little tired and we have to take care of our bodies. We are doing that through practice and not maybe going as long as we normally do. Staying fresh with what we want to do, staying up to date with what we want to do. When game time comes it is time to turn it back up.”

Oak Harbor (16-3,6-2) plays at home against Port Clinton (5-16,3-6) in a Bay Division game on Friday night. The Redskins, who won only one game last year, have won four of the last eight. They beat Edison (66-38) a league game last Friday.

Sweet says Port Clinton is playing its best basketball right now. “Every year you want to be ending the season on a strong note and Port Clinton right now definitely is. They are 4-4 in their last eight games. They have won, loss, won, loss, all of the way through. They are playing well, they are playing good basketball, their kids are playing confident. I think they have done a good job over there with a new coaching staff. These kids are going to come into our gym on Friday night, being a school system next to us, a rivalry game, and we are expecting their best shot. They are going to get our best shot too and we are excited to play these guys,” he said.

Published 2/21/20

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Oak Harbor shares first place with Willard and Huron in the Sandusky Bay Conference entering play on Friday night.

They have three division games left and they likely are going to need to win them all to get a piece of that title.

That process begins on Friday night at Margaretta against the Polar Bears.

Wednesday night, the Rockets won a non-conference game in beating Woodmore (77-43) in continuing their solid play.

Coach Eric Sweet says they shot it really, really well. “It was a great win or us. Any win is a good win, no matter what time of the season it is. The last one is the best one. We came out (Wednesday) night and shot the ball very well. We know they run a 2-3 zone, so we came out prepared against it. We made 13 threes, which makes you look really, really smart against a 2-3 zone. So, we were able to get it going that way. A good Wednesday night win, a shot trip, so we were able to get home at a decent time,” said Sweet.

Oak Harbor (13-3,5-2) is at Margaretta (11-8,4-4) in a Bay Division game on Friday night. The Bears lost to Port Clinton (45-43) last Friday, in a final that was a pretty big surprise. In the first meeting this year on January 4, Oak Harbor beat the Bears (79-40) in the first round of division play.

Sweet says Margaretta has become more of a perimeter oriented team. “You can’t write off Margaretta. When you lose your best player like that you know they are going to be a different team, but you can’t write them off. Coach (Steve) Keller always has a game plan ready for them. You saw them get Willard at home, but they struggled against Port Clinton at home,” he told Swankonsports.com on Thursday, “So, we know it’s going to be a tough fight. It’s going to be a dogfight at their place. We are excited for the opportunity to play them. We just know we have to be ready for anything and everything when we go to their gym.”

Sweet adds they need not be worried about what Willard and Huron are doing Friday night or any other night. “It is really simple, for the Rockets to get a share of the “SBC” championship, and that was one of our goals to start the season, we have to win the next three games. We don’t need to worry about anybody else. If we take care of ourselves and win the next three games we can call ourselves league champions this year. That was the goal to start the season off with and we put ourselves in great position. We have to win the next three and that is all that matters to us,” said Sweet.

Published 2/14/20

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Oak Harbor now shares second place in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference with Willard a game behind Huron.

They play at Huron on Friday night, but first they play at Carey in a non-conference game on Tuesday night.

Last Friday, Willard’s Terry Baldridge hit a three pointer with :01 left to give the Flashes a (44-43) win over the Rockets. Oak Harbor had won (49-48) the week before.

Coach Eric Sweet says they were right there at the end. “When we went to Willard on Friday night, we knew it was going to be a dogfight. It was a dogfight at our place two weeks ago, it was a dogfight at Willard. It was a physical game, both teams were up in each other. Both had good game plans. There were five offensive sets we thought we screwed up on. There were five defensive sets. We could have got this call instead of that call. It’s a one-point ballgame. So, at the end of the day we were right where we wanted to be at. We had a four-point lead. We missed a defensive rebound that probably would have secured the win for us. We gave up an and one. They hit a game winning three,” he told Swankonsports.com on Monday, “Kudus to them for sticking around and keep battling, like our kids did. We got it at our place and they go it at their place. Great two games, I wish we would been on the better side of it on Friday night, but they are great team, great atmosphere, great game.”

Oak Harbor (9-3) is at Carey (9-8) in a non-conference game on Tuesday night. The Blue Devils have lost five of their last six, all against good teams, including (65-55) to Wynford on Saturday night.

Sweets says they have to make it difficult for Hayden Stone to get the ball without forgetting about the outside shooters. “They have the Stone kid inside, who is 6’8”, strong, athletic. He has good post moves and so he is their main player. Because of his size and athleticism in the paint people are doubling down on him. He does a great job of finding his teammates out on the arc. We worked (Monday) about helping down in and taking care of business down low and not giving him anything easy, but at the same time there are shooters we have to get to. We have to know where those two guys are. Traveling to Carey on a Tuesday night is not going to be an easy game. They have lost some tough games, but they have also won some good games. They are a good ballclub and we are looking forward to the challenge,” said Sweet.

Huron beat the Rockets (59-57) in overtime on the December 27. Sweet expects another tussle on Friday night in a game they pretty much have to win. “We expect a dogfight, just like the Willard games were. We lost to them in overtime on a last second shot. They hit us with kind of a last second shot to tie it up and send it to overtime. We are expecting another dogfight. We are going to prepare on Wednesday and Thursday to go over there and hopefully come out of that gym with a “W.” We know going to Huron is not an easy thing to do. They have some great players and coach James does a great job of coaching them too. We are excited about the opportunity to bounce back after a tough game at Willard. It is kind for first place. If they win, they get themselves out a little further. If we are able to take care of business and get a win, now we are talking a three way tie with two losses. We are right there in the hunt where we want to be at, but we have to take care of business on Friday night,” said Sweet.

Published 2/04/20

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Oak Harbor plays Willard for the second time in a week and again their will be a lot riding on the outcome of this Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division game at Willard on Friday night.

Oak Harbor now shares first place in the Bay Division with Huron with Willard a game back after the Rockets beat the Flashes (49-48) last Friday at Oak Harbor.

Coach Eric Sweet says a quick start last week was a big factor in their benefit last week. “It was a phenomenal win. It was a great atmosphere that night and my kids played extremely hard. We came out ready to play that game. Willard came out ready to play that game. It was a tough game, it was a physical game. I think both teams know they are at the top of the league this year. We came out and were prepared and got a good lead there. In the third quarter we kind of blew it and gave them a chance to get back into it. Our kids hung tough and they battled tough to get a one-point win at home, which is outstanding,” he said.

Now, every league covered by Swankonsports.com has a double round robin, but most of the time there is about a month between games. This game on Friday night is rescheduled from December due to the football playoffs.

Sweet says it will be interesting to see how both teams adapt with so little time between games. “That is the thing that I am really interested in. We have played everybody in our league twice every single year, but usually you have five, six, 10 games in between them and all of the sudden both of us only have one game. We are standing back watching our film and we are going to make adjustments,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “There are going to be things that both of us do that are probably going to be similar to last week because it was a close game, but there are things we definitely want to do differently because it was a close game. I am interested as a coach in that little chess match with Joe (Bedingfield) because I have a lot of respect for what he does and how the kids respond to it.”

Sweet says one of the keys anytime you play Willard is defending their fast break. He says they did that well last week and will need to again on Friday. “We don’t mind running, but at the same time that is one of their best strengths. We have seen a lot of film on them and a lot of their points come on quick transition points. We want to have good offensive possessions that end in good quality shots. Hopefully, the shots go through the net and by doing that it limits them and how they want to push the ball up the court. If we just limit our turnovers, which we did last Friday night, we won’t give them those easy layups. That was a big thing for us. Baldridge is a great player, but a lot of his points come form getting up and down the court. We were able to get back and stop him and make him settle for some jump shots. So, we know they are probably going to try and push the tempo a little bit more, but we have been preparing for that this week. We are excited for the opportunity,” said Sweet.

Published 1/30/20

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Oak Harbor is one of the try leaders in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference along with Willard and Huron. They host Willard this week in a huge one in the league.

The Rockets got a late start to their season due to football, but coach Eric Sweet says with their experience there wasn’t must of a learning curve. “We had great success here this year with the football program making it to the state final four. It was just an awesome experience for the community and for the kids. Me and my family became fans and we just enjoyed the run. It was just a great atmosphere in this town for those tournament games. It did push us back and we go started late in the season. We didn’t start until the weekend before Christmas. We came in and hit the ground running. I have a very veteran team and so there were moments I was kind of worried about it when football kept going, but in the end I told myself I had a great group of kids, a great group of seniors, veteran leadership, so I knew we would be able to hit the ground running. We had a little hiccup there in the second game of the season versus Huron, an overtime loss, but then we got our feet going again and rattled off five in a row and then lost Saturday night Cardinal Stritch. We are setting at a good 7-2 with Willard coming in. Definitely a different feel coming in this year with football going as long as it did, now basketball is in full and we are just sprinting. It is now longer a marathon, it’s a sprint for us here at Oak Harbor,” said Sweet.

Oak Harbor (7-2,3-1) plays at home on Friday night against Willard (12-1,4-1), #1 in the Swankonsports.com boys’ basketball coaches poll in the small school division. Willard beat Norwalk St. Paul (63-61) on Tuesday night in a non-conference game.

Sweet says the Flashes guards are very good. “Willard has got great guard play. Last year, they had some size with Tripplet and a couple of other kids that graduated, so now they just have great guard play. Their two seniors in Baldridge and Parrott are playing phenomenal as they are averaging 40 points between those two guys. So, they are athletic. They like to get up and down the court. (Tuesday) night we went and watched them against S. Paul, a very good team. They are just athletic and they like to get after you and run up and down the court, so we need to control the basketball and finish at the rim and slow then down that way by running good offense and not turning the ball over,” he said.

Willard likes to force the tempo and Sweet says they have to get back on defense, but more than that they have to take great shots. “They love to get the ball and they throw it up the court in a hurry. I have watched them multiple times dribble the ball up the court for layups or throw it up with two or three passes for a layup. When I say three I’m probably pushing it, it is usually just one or two and they are up for a layup. Parrott does a great job pushing the ball, so does Baldridge, who is a post point at times and they get the ball up the court in a hurry. If you had a bad possession or you take a bad shot they capitalize on it in a hurry,” he told Swankonsports.com on Wednesday, “We don’t want to slow down offensively, but we want to finish offensive possessions with quality shots and quality looks, so they just can’t get out and run on us. That is something we are going to work on this week is not just letting them leak out for open layups. Certain guys have to get back to protect the rim. We are working on that this week and talking about it.”

Published 1/23/20

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It’s Oak Harbor against Carey in the division district semifinals on Thursday night at Norwalk High School.

The Rockets (19-4) were runners-up to Vermilion in the Bay Division of the Sandusky Bay Conference. They beat Willard (65-35) in a sectional final last Friday.

Coach Eric Sweet says they have had good scoring balance and have played hard and well on defense all year long. “I think we have been a very well balanced team throughout the season so far. We have three guys that are averaging double figures. I have two starters that can get in double figures at any time in the course of the game if the other guys are being shutdown. We have a great rotation going. We have a great group of kids. I think the biggest thing offensively is our balance. This team has really bought into the defense that we play. We are playing tremendous defense all year. Those are the two main things,” he said.

Carey (18-6) beat Western Reserve (66-46) last Friday at Hopewell-Loudon. They finished in fourth in the Northern 10 Athletic Conference that was very good at the top. They were the only team to beat Upper Sandusky in a league game this year.

Sweet says they have good floor balance. “I think they have a nice inside, outside balance. I think they have two really nice guards. They bring some other guards off the bench that can do some things as well, but they do have a great post player. You know, 6’7”, you can’t teach that height. He does have great skill inside, the Stone kid. I think they have a nice balance with the inside, outside attack. The “N10” is a tremendous conference. Upper Sandusky and Colonel Crawford had a great year, Mohawk was up there and Carey was too. All of those teams in that league were very good teams and well respected. I think they have a great team and I am looking forward to the matchup,” said Sweet.

When it comes to keys to a win, Sweet says they must rebound the basketball and continue to be unselfish then they have the ball. “I think we have to limit their offensive opportunities. They do shoot the ball well and they do have the big kid inside and at the same respect they do have some length inside. Their four man has good length to him. Obviously, the big kid inside has good length. If you can limit teams to one opportunity and not give them multiple shots. Offensive rebounding is going to be big for us. The first thing we have been preaching this week is we have to get defensive rebounds. We have to make them shoot with a hand in their face and we have to finish the possession with a rebound,” he told Swankonsports.com on Tuesday, “You can force the big kid out as far you want, you can challenge shooters, but if you don’t get that defensive rebound to end the possession those things don’t matter. Offensively, we want to stay who we are. We want to be aggressive. We want to share the basketball. We would love to have another game like we did against Willard in the sectional finals where we had multiple guys in double figures. We had multiple kids give us great opportunities all game long. Those are two things we have been stressing to our kids all week.”

Published 3/07/18

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