Photo/SHERI McANINCH UNION LOCAL’S Hunter McCort goes up for a shot during the second half of Saturday evening’s OVAC Class 3A championship game against Fort Frye. The Jets fell to the Cadets, 57-47.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — It was a week later and a different gender, but the approach and opponent were the same.

For the second straight Saturday, Fort Frye used an impressive defensive performance, showcased a disciplined offense and captured an OVAC Class 3A championship.

Eerily similar to the exact way in which the Cadets’ girls team went about its business, the Fort Frye boys outlasted Union Local at Ohio University Eastern’s Health and Physical Education Center, 57-47, to win the conference title in the nightcap of the day-long Wheeling Hospital OVAC Boys Basketball Championships.

“Winning this is huge,” Fort Frye head coach Eric Henniger said. “We hadn’t won since 2014 and it’s something we kept talking about. We want to win it every single year because we like winning championships. It slingshots us into the tournament.”

While the Cadets are riding a high entering Division III sectional play against Bellaire on Tuesday, Feb. 25, Union Local head coach Zach Delman must find a way to get his team, which had lost just once since December prior to Saturday, back up before a Tuesday road trip to River to close out the regular season.

“It’s unfortunate, but congrats to Fort Frye because they played a great game,” Delman said. “Hopefully, we’ll press the reset button on Monday and shift our focus to River and hopefully get back on the winning track. We have a chance to play Fort Frye again, so that’s a goal we can set right now, but we can’t afford to look ahead.”

The win capped a tough week for the Cadets, who went on the road to Linsly and prevailed during Tuesday semi-final round and then survived what was basically a home game for the Jets, who once again filled their side of the gymnasium.

“I have pretty tough kids,” Henniger said. “They’ve been in pressure situations in different sports. To come here and beat Union Local is a good win because Coach (Zach) Delman does an awesome job. We knew we’d be in for a battle, and I am just happy to get a win.”

It’s been a long road to the title for the Cadets. They were upset as the top seed in the semifinals last season by eventual champion Barnesville and this season, while rolling along, they lost a key cog due an eligibility issue.

“I have a lot of players and they’re resilient,” Henniger said. “These kids have really stuck together and it’s just a testament to them. We have a good group of kids, which makes it easier to coach.”

While the Jets definitely scratched and clawed their way back, the hole was simply too deep. They found themselves down 16-7 after one and then looked up at a 30-15 reading at the half.

“You can’t dig that kind of hole against Fort Frye,” Delman said. “They’re too disciplined and they don’t beat themselves. They’re not going to allow you to chip away. When we made shots, they’d go down answer.”

Union Local began the process of chipping away in the third by outscoring the Cadets, 12-8. In the fourth, as Delman pointed out, each time the Jets seemed to be gaining some traction, Fort Frye had an answer.

The Belmont Countians got to within eight three times in the fourth, but only as close as six once and that came on a trey by junior Luke Merritt, who led his team with 16 points.

Union Local, which has hung its hat on its 3-point shooting, struggled from the field. On top of shooting just four-of-18 from behind the line, they were 13-of-38 from inside the arc, including a bevy of missed layups.

“We practiced (at OUE) a few times this week, so it shouldn’t have been like we were not used to shooting here,” Delman said. “The ball didn’t bounce our way tonight in terms of the shooting performance. Sometimes, when you rely on the 3-point shot and it’s not going, it can quickly become a recipe for disaster.”

While the Jets were led by Merritt’s 16 and Nathan Meyer’s 14. Hunter McCort added eight.

Fort Frye was led by Brady Schilling, who was named the recipient of the John Howell MVP Award, finished with 17 points. Included was a sharp 9-of-10 effort at the. Taking that a step farther, he hit five-of-six from the stripe in the fourth to help keep the Jets at bay.

Kelton Fogle added 13 and Luke Huffman finished with 11.