Depperschmidt, role players come up big in Lexington's win over Ontario

ONTARIO — Lexington senior Alex Depperschmidt scored just seven points through his team's first 10 games.

He had just one 3-pointer in that stretch as he did plenty of other things to affect the outcome of games.

But on Tuesday night, Depperschmidt scored more points in his team's 62-52 win over Ontario than he did the entire season up to that point. His 11 points and a 3-for-4 performance from beyond the arch helped the Minutemen pick up a win in the latest edition of The Backyard Rivalry.

It was his sharpshooting in the third quarter that helped turn a tight 35-32 lead into a comfortable 41-32 cushion as he knocked down back-to-back threes to start the run. After Ontario stopped the bleeding with a free throw, Lexington sophomore Gavin Husty squared up a triple of his own to make it 44-34 in a matter of three possessions.

"We work on shooting a lot in practice especially the day before a game just so we can take them with confidence and be used to it," Depperschmidt said. "In warmups, we really focus on getting used to the gym and the rims. When Baden (Forup) found me on some great passes, I was wide open so everything just felt right out of my hand."

Husty finished with eight points and freshman Joe Caudill had two to give the Minutemen 21 points off of the bench to Ontario's 11. It was the overall difference in the game.

"It is so important," Depperschmidt said to having guys off of the bench step up. "I scored tonight because Baden was being doubled and he turns and finds me and trusts me enough to take those shots. It takes us to another level if we get some bench scoring and if teams are going to double our guys, we have to step up and make shots. It is going to be big."

It was big on Tuesday night, especially in the third quarter. After taking a narrow 26-22 lead into halftime, Lexington outscored Ontario 20-12 in the third as they closed the quarter on an 11-2 run. All 11 points were scored by bench players. Lexington finished the night 6-for-10 from three as Husty was a perfect 2-for-2 to compliment Depperschmidt's night.

"We have a couple of guys who could knock down some threes this year and now we are getting a couple more coming in and shooting it well," Lexington coach Scott Hamilton said. "Alex had a great night. After he hit his first one, he got the confidence to shoot more and when they lay off of him and don't contest his shot, he can knock those down. I am happy for him. He is a big senior captain for me and does a great job defensively. I am excited for him, especially at Ontario and his history with the Weaver Boy (Gage and Carter) in soccer."

Hamilton also knows how important it is to get his bench guys going as the Minutemen continue to develop depth.

"It is huge," Hamilton said. "We know those guys are working very hard and it is great to see that pay off. Husty played some great defense tonight and really showed me how good of a defender he can be. When you can put a guy out there who can score and defend, it allows me to trust and rely on him a little bit more. We are trying to get that depth a little bit and we have a strong seven guys."

Lexington was 23-of-35 from the field going 66% for the game and was 10-for-15 from the free throw line so overall, an efficient night. It helped they were all looking for each other as they handed out 14 assists as a team with five coming from Hudson Moore and four from AJ Young.

"We have not been shooting the ball well these last couple of games so our focus was to make sure we are taking good shots," Hamilton said. "We wanted to share it a little more than we have been in the past and we did tonight."

The Warriors responded nicely trailing by 12 entering the fourth quarter and quickly cut it to six after Grayson Purvis and Grady Schroeder connected on back-to-back 3s to start the fourth, but Forup, who finished with a team-high 12 points, scored an easy fast-break layup to push it back to eight as it seemed every time Ontario crept to within two possessions, Lexington responded.

"I thought we executed well and were solid enough defensively," Ontario coach Tim Mergel said. "There were some guys for Lexington who weren't on the scouting report not labeled as shooters who knocked down some shots. You have to give Depperschmidt credit. He stepped into his shot and looked like he has done it 1,000 times. It hurt us.

"But we worked our way back to down six and then the biggest guy on the floor leaked out for a layup to make it eight. They were on their heels and we pressured a little bit and they got a layup and we just shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times."

Ontario again cut it back to six after trailing by 13 when Gage Weaver's free throws made it 56-50 but again, Lexington responded with a 6-0 run to put the game back out of reach.

Ontario (5-4) was outsized at nearly every position, yet still held Lexington off of the offensive boards allowing just six rebounds and only seven second-chance points, normally a category the Minutemen dominate in.

"It is a credit to our kids and how they fought and scrapped," Mergel said. "It is tough sledding in there. When Forup gets a good base in the paint, he is hard to move and you have to be scrappy when that happens and our kids were."

Freshman Landon Foltz led Ontario with 15 points while Gage Weaver had 10. Schroeder and Braxton Hall had eight apiece. Mergel is seeing a lot of progress from his team and hopes to see more during one of the toughest stretches in the schedule.

"I thought at first, we were playing at a high level and teams starting taking away some things we were doing well," Mergel said. "Madison played us tough and our response was terrible. Against Marion Harding, we just had a bad third quarter and then tonight, we played very well. We are trending upwards, but the schedule doesn't get any easier with Shelby and Ashland next. I told the kids, we are out of moral victories. We can be a good basketball team if we can put together a solid 32 and I don't think we have put together a complete 32 minutes yet."

The O-Rena was jam-packed as one of the highest-attended games since before the pandemic. It provided both teams with a valuable, tournament-type atmosphere that they will use to prepare them for a postseason that is quickly approaching.

"I told the kids the other day, games like this are why I came here," Mergel said. "You enjoy these. These are starting to come few and far between. Years ago, gyms were packed every night. Now, you have these special rivalries and you have to embrace these and our kids responded very well. We went to Lex last year and were shell-shocked. This year, we took a couple of punches and we got back up and kept swinging. I was proud of them."

Depperschmidt knew what the Minutemen were up against and was thrilled with the win.

"It is a tough place to play and we knew they were going to be up for this one," Depperschmidt said. "They shoot it so well and it was important to come out and take advantage of this tournament atmosphere and get a win."

Lexington (11-0) extended its winning streak to end the first half of the season perfectly. While outsiders are looking for style points and expect the Minutemen to win every game by 20, Lexington is focused on just picking up a win each night they take the court.

"If we get out of Ontario with a win, that is all I care about," Hamilton said. "It could be by 20 or 2 and I wouldn't care. We had three games postponed and pushed back and now we have 10 games in January and when I told the guys that, they were excited about it because they would get to play games and not have to practice. We are building on what we do while trying to prepare for our opponents so things are going quicker and shorter. They are excited to get out and play."

Lexington travels to Ashland on Friday before heading to Fort Loramie to play in the Martin Luther King Classic on Sunday against St. Marys Memorial in what is expected to be their toughest test to date. Ontario travels to Shelby on Friday and hosts Ashland on Saturday for another tough two games.

jfurr@gannett.com

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Twitter: @JakeFurr11

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Lexington Minutemen beat Ontario Warriors in boys basketball