Wednesday, March 24, 1999
Coldwater aims to freeze Madeira
BY DAVE SCHUTTE
Enquirer contributor
After reviewing the scouting report on Madeira, Coldwater boys' basketball coach Chuck Bihn came to a quick conclusion.
“They (Madeira) like to get up and down the floor, but we can't let that happen,” Bihn said. “The lower the score, the better it will be for us.”
In a battle of opposites, Madeira and Coldwater meet in the Division III state semifinals at 11a.m. Thursday at the Value City Arena in Columbus. The winner advances to Saturday's championship game.
“It surprises me that Madeira averages 80 points a game,” Bihn said. “Surely someone has tried to slow it down on them. They must be a scoring machine when the pace is fast.”
Although Coldwater has the worst record (17-8) of the 16 teams that qualified to the semifinals, the Cavaliers can't be taken lightly.
“Seven of our players were on the football team that played in the state championship game,” Bihn said. “We got a late start and had no scrimmages and only eight practices before the first game.”
Before Christmas break, Coldwater won one of four games.
“We went two more weeks after Christmas without a game because of heavy snow,” Bihn said. “We ended up rescheduling nine games. (It) turned out to be a break for us.”
Since that four-week layoff, the Cavaliers have played outstanding basketball. They won eight consecutive games before losing the final two regular-season games with two starters out with the flu.
“Offensively, we'll take what the opponent gives us,” Bihn said. “We have good outside shooters (Keith Walls and Ryan Rammell), or we'll drive to the hole.”
Walls, a 6-foot-1 senior, runs the offense from the point guard position. He averages 13 points and nine assists, while Rammell scores 14 a game.
Coldwater is big and strong inside.
The Cavaliers rely on Adam Huwer, a 6-3, 220-pound forward who averages 15 points and 11 rebounds; Tyler Vogel, a 6-5, 215-pound center who averages seven points and eight rebounds, and Jeremy Gaerke, a 6-1, 195-pound forward who averages eight points.
“We usually give the ball to Keith (Walls) and let him go,” Bihn said. “During the tournament, he has either scored the winning points or made passes to set up the winning points.”
Defensively, Coldwater sticks with the man-to-man defense. The Cavaliers seldom press, but they'll trap when the opponent least expects it.
“We plan to contest every Madeira pass, dribble and shot,” Bihn said. “We'll have to do something to keep them from getting into a rhythm, which high-scoring teams thrive on.”
Madeira guards Todd Schlensker and Ken Fields will be the targets of the Coldwater defense. Like Madeira, Coldwater is a senior-laden team; unlike the Mustangs, the Cavaliers have little depth.
“We pretty much go with these six players,” Bihn said. “We're not the quickest team, but we're very disciplined on offense and defense.”
Bihn's sister, Lynn, played on Fort Recovery's back-to-back Division IV state championship girls teams in 1990 and 1991 and later at Xavier. She is XU's all-time leading rebounder.
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