Garfield’s Devin Bates releases a free throw during the second half of Friday’s game at Windham.
Phil Keren/Portage Sports

By Phil Keren

Correspondent

Pressure defense and a scrappy inside game on offense keyed Garfield’s 59-50 win over Windham on Friday night in what may have been the last game in a rivalry that dates back to 1927.

Windham did not put Garfield on their schedule for next season, so it appears the teams will, at the very least, not meet in the foreseeable future.

Noting that the nearly 100-year-old rivalry is a big game for teams and their fans, Garfield head coach Matt Hill noted it’s “sad” to see the matchup end, at least for the time being.

“When I went to (Garfield) in the late 90s, our enrollments were a lot closer,” Hill said. “They’ve shrunk, we’ve grown. You never say never but I do understand from their side.”

If it did end up being the last time these two Portage County rivals faced one another, both teams’ fans can take pride in the efforts given by both teams in a scrappy, high-energy game.

“For our kids on both sides it’s a fun environment,” Hill said. “We probably both haven’t had the type of seasons we would like to have. It’s kind of one of those games where… you just throw the records out.”

On the other sideline, Windham Head Coach Cody Apthorpe was pleased with his team’s effort on the Bombers’ Senior Night.

“I thought we came out tonight much better than we have in the past and really the game stayed close pretty much throughout,” Apthorpe said. “They started to stretch it out a little bit there in the third and fourth quarter and we started to come back a little bit. It was a good game back and forth. I’m proud of our guys for sure with the effort they gave.”

Windham senior Matt Kolaczek scored his team’s first three baskets on a pair of layups and a putback to give the Bombers an early 6-2 lead. After the quick start, the Bombers found themselves in a tough spot when Kolaczek picked up his second foul with three minutes remaining in the period. The first quarter ended with Windham leading 10-7.

In the second quarter, Garfield’s sharpshooting from beyond the arc propelled the G-Men to a 23-20 halftime advantage. Freshman guard Nate Grabowski, senior guard Cam Chapman, senior guard Brandyn Bogucki and sophomore guard Parker Gill all knocked down 3- pointers against Windham’s zone defense. During this intense, frenetic quarter, the lead changed hands three times with Garfield closing out the period on an 8-4 run thanks to the trey from Bogucki, a pair of free throws courtesy of junior guard Collin McGranahan and Gill’s three- pointer.

“I think in the first half we were a little bit impatient,” Hill said. “We didn’t try to penetrate the zone, we didn’t try to get the ball inside-out…we talked at halftime just about getting the ball inside, making sure we get inside touches. We made a couple of adjustments to overload one side of the zone. I thought our kids adjusted… Once we settled down and got into our stuff, I thought we did a good job.”

At the start of the third period, Windham senior Gavin Kiser canned a reverse layup and converted another layup following a steal, while sophomore Keegan Kiser made a layup in a halfcourt set to put the Bombers ahead, 26-23. With the game tied at 28, and the Bomber crowd energized, a trio of G-Men spearheaded a 10-0 run to put Garfield ahead, 38-28, about halfway through the quarter. Garfield junior guard Oliver Walker netted a pair of putbacks and made a layup following a turnover, while McGranahan muscled in a layup in the paint and junior forward Devin Bates scored on an offensive rebound. Kolazcek was whistled for his fourth foul on the McGranahan lay-in and Windham finished the quarter with their senior post man watching from the bench. At the end of the third quarter, the G-Men led 42-32.

While it appeared that Garfield had seized the momentum, Windham didn’t allow the G-Men to get too comfortable. The Bombers opened the fourth quarter on a 9-2 run consisting of a pair of mid-ranger jumpers and a trey by Keegan Kiser, and a layup from senior Ethan Thornton.

This surge cut Garfield’s lead to 44-41. A Bogucki putback and a Grabowski lay-in increased the G-Men lead to seven, but a traditional three-point play by Windham’s Gavin Kiser brought that number back to four, 48-44, with 2:40 to play. Garfield then outscored Windham 8-4 during the next 2 minutes to pull ahead, 56-48. Bates scored twice at the rim, Walker laid one in, and McGranahan recorded a layup following a Windham turnover. The G-Men made 3-of-4 foul shots during the final minute to seal the win.

At halftime, Hill said they made a defensive adjustment that triggered more scoring opportunities. In the first half, Garfield used a zone press with traps, but Hill said they switched to a man-to-man full-court press in the second half; the new tactic proved to more effective.

“It created some turnovers, and for us, we want to play fast, and we got some transition baskets,” Hill said.

After sitting out much of the second quarter due to foul trouble, Bates made some key baskets down the stretch to help his team clinch the win.

“Devin’s such a strong kid and a good finisher around the rim,” Hill said. “He has an uncanny ability to be able to finish around contact…We did a much better job (in the second half) moving against the zone, getting those inside touches and definitely finishing around the rim.” Bates’ 16 points led a balanced scoring attack from Garfield. Walker had 10 points, while Bogucki and McGranahan each had 8.

Meanwhile, Windham faced an uphill battle as Kolaczek and fellow senior Louden Collins both got into foul trouble and ended up fouling out.

“Matt and Louden both fouling out there with a significant amount of game time left for sure affected some things, both offensively and defensively,” Apthorpe said.

Windham’s leader added that he thought, “our guys that came in off the bench gave all the effort they had.”

“I’m proud and respect the effort that we continue to give even down through our last final games here,” Apthorpe said. “That’s very respectable. The season that we’ve had, for guys to continue to play as hard as they have, show up to practice every day, play as hard as they have, that’s something that I’m definitely proud of with this group.”

Windham’s offensive output was just as balanced as Garfield’s with Keegan Kiser scoring 11 points, Dejuan Ramsey putting up 10, Gavin Kiser tallying 9, and Kolaczek and Collins registering 8 each.

Apthorpe said this is the first group of seniors he’s had that he’s coached since they were freshmen.

“That was definitely a nice experience to able to watch them grow from the freshman year all the way up to the senior year,” Apthorpe said. “It’s definitely going to be a somber good-bye.

Their personalities are fun to be around. Their work ethic as the year has gone on has been extremely respectable….I think these five guys have done a good job setting examples for our younger players and we’ve already addressed some of the younger guys talking about the shoes that are going to need to be filled looking to next year.”