Basketball: Ottawa girls, Princeton boys score wins in Monday doubleheader

PRINCETON – Basketball fans were treated to a girls-boys doubleheader of former NCIC rivals Ottawa and Princeton on Monday night at Prouty Gym.

Ottawa won the girls opener 41-33, and Princeton won the boys nightcap 50-41.

The games originally were scheduled for separate nights but were rescheduled together for Monday after weather postponements.

The girls coaches were appreciative of being able to play in front of the large crowd and PHS pep band.

“I really like it. I just think it’s a great atmosphere for the kids to be able to play in,” Princeton coach Tiffany Gonigam said. “The athletic directors threw out the idea of making it a boys-girls doubleheader, and I was all in for it.”

“Boys and girls doubleheaders are the best,” Ottawa girls coach Brent Moore said. “This is always a good environment. Last couple times we’ve been canceled for whatever reason, weather, COVID. Princeton’s been at our place, and we just missed the opportunity. I always love coming over here.”

Boys: Princeton 50, Ottawa 41

Kyler Araujo sank a half-court buzzer-beater, using every inch of iron to give Ottawa big momentum boost with a 22-21 lead at halftime.

Tigers coach Jason Smith wasn’t very happy about the first-half effort and let his team know about it at halftime. The Tigers played more inspired basketball in the third quarter, scoring the first six points and holding an 11-3 edge to take a 32-25 lead at quarter’s end.

Noah LaPorte scored twice, and Evan Driscoll had a three-point play off a hard-scoring drive to cap the Tigers’ third-quarter run.

Driscoll was just warming up. He scored seven straight points in the fourth quarter, including a left-handed layup, a 3-pointer from the left corner and a 2-pointer to send the Tigers to a 43-32 lead midway through the fourth quarter.

Smith said Driscoll was just what the Tigers needed.

“We were looking for that energy,” he said. “He’s that guy that’s always been there for his teammates and been inspirational and always been positive. He’s that guy who brings some energy and passion on the court and works hard every day in practice. And that guy just got rewarded for everything he’s done.”

Smith said it was a good win for the Tigers (12-12) moving forward.

“They always make you grind it out and are very physical. It’s a postseason battle, that’s what it feels like,” he said. “We made some corrections in the second half, and I thought a lot of guys played well tonight.”

LaPorte finished with a game-high 23 points, with Driscoll and Korte Lawson adding 10 each.

Cooper Knoll had 11 points, and Evan Snook added 10 for the Pirates (10-12)

“I thought we played hard and were competitive,” Ottawa coach Mark Cooper said. “We went from a one-point lead to all of a sudden we were down about seven, and I felt like the rest of the game we were right there. It didn’t get out of hand, but it felt like that one little surge in the third quarter put the game where it was the rest of the way.

“Hey, that’s a big, strong, talented group of kids that are capable of making a postseason run. We had to shoot a little bit better tonight to get a win. I was proud of our kids. We played really hard again.”

Girls: Ottawa 41, Princeton 33

The Pirates jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the girls opener, which would end up as the margin of victory.

The Tigresses (18-8) came on strong in the second quarter, outscoring the Pirates 16-6 to take an 18-16 lead at halftime. Sophomore Keighley Davis put in eight of her team-high 15 points to lead the PHS charge.

“I think they were up 10-2 to start the game, and that’s not a position you want to be in, but we came right back in it the second quarter. We just praised them after the first quarter, that’s a great defensive effort to hold Ottawa to 10 points. Get out there, keep playing, and I think we took the lead going into the half.”

The Pirates righted the ship to go up 29-23 at the end of three quarters and outscored their hosts 25-15 in the second half to nail down the nonconference win.

“It’s nice to come over here and get a tough road win,” Moore said.

Skylar Dorsey led Ottawa (15-12) with 11 points. Mary Stisser added 10, eight in the fourth quarter to help the Pirates put the game away.