Roundup: Devils top Trojans; Steelers, Muskies, Ms. Reds grab region wins

Ed Farrell, The Herald, Sharon, Pa.
·15 min read

Mar. 3—SHARPSVILLE — Tuesday night's Region 4 regular-season finale between Sharpsville and Greenville had a playoff feel to it.

"Bein' game twenty-two for us ... if we're not ready for the playoffs now, we're not going to be ready for the playoffs," reasoned Sharpsville skipper Matt Durisko.

Durisko's Blue Devils drained 22 of 35 free-throw attempts en route to a 62-50 win.

Sharpsville assumed a 39-24 lead with 4:35 remaining in the 3rd period before Jalen Ritzert rallied the Trojans with 16 second-half points.

Ritzert rifled in a right-wing trey with 1:29 left, drawing down Greenville's deficit to the Devils to 53-50; however, Sharpsville's sharpshooting from the sin stripe sealed the win. Mack Staunch, Ryan Ladjevich and Jackson Doyle drained 2 apiece. Ladjevich led Sharpsville with 11-for-14 marksmanship.

"We were fortunate to come out of here with a win against a team that just absolutely plays their tails off. They had some guys knock down shots and we did some uncharacteristic things," Durisko admitted. "It's a credit to them with what they did and forced us to do ... But the second season starts," Durisko declared.

Doyle drilled a game-high 19 points — including 4 buckets from beyond the arc — to stake Sharpsville (9-5 region, 13-9 overall), while Ladjevich lent a 13-point, 13-rebound, 7-assist line and James Thomas tallied 13 points and hauled down a half-dozen caroms. Staunch scored 7 of his 8 points during the 2nd half.

"We've got four or five different guys that can score at any given time; it's just a matter of finding the correct shot, finding the shot that is — maybe not an okay shot or a good shot — but finding a great shot," Durisko explained. "When we move the ball and cut hard, we're tough to defend. ... We've got a bunch of guys who can score; we've just kind've need to put it together."

"Toward the end, we made 'em when it mattered," Doyle said regarding the Devils' 10-for-13 fourth-frame free-throw shooting.

"I think we're ready to play," Doyle said regarding the upcoming District 10 playoffs. "This game was really important because — if we won, we'd probably get the (number) two seed, get a home playoff game for the first round; but if we had lost we probably would've gotten bumped down to four or five (seed), so that would've been a tough situation for us."

Greenville (6-8, 10-11) got great performances from Ritzert (18 points) and Jonah Lentz (10 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds before being DQ'd on personal fouls), and contributions from Evan Cianci (6 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists), Benny Cano (9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists), Logan Lentz (6 rebounds) and Landon Bielata (6 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists). But the Trojans turned it over 19 times.

"I don't think we faded; we were prepared for this. I push 'em pretty hard (in practice) — up-and-down the court stuff — so I don't think they faded; we just had bad luck of the bounce at times," summarized Trojans' taskmaster Scot Vannoy.

"It's a good region match, and, yeah, it's like a playoff game," Vannoy asserted. "They jumped out to a lead (15-14 after 8 minutes), we had a bad second quarter, then we were able to fight back in that third quarter, beginning of the fourth quarter, get it down before we had some foul issues.

"It was just a strong performance by both programs," Vannoy continued. "I do feel good with where our team's at. We're playin' phenomenal. We lost two, good region games (Hickory in OT, and at Sharpsville), but we were able to beat two 5A schools last week (Meadville, Gen. McLane), as well. So we're playin' good; we've just gotta keep that energy the whole, entire game and can't let any lapses happen."

Durisko said in summation: "At the end of the day we're very fortunate to be in the position we are. For my seniors I'm happy, I'm excited for them because they got a whole (regular) season in, and regardless of record we get to go to the playoffs, and hopefully we'll have a home playoff game — I don't know the last time Sharpsville's had a home playoff game; I know it's always been neutral site. But it's another opportunity for them to step on the court as a group, and I couldn't be happier for that."

Notes: Sharpsville shot 17 for 49 from the floor (34.6%), compared with the Trojans' 22-for-54 tally (40.7%). But Greenville got to the line just 5 times, converting 4. ... The Trojans edged Blue Devils on the boards, 38-36. ... Sharpsville made 13 miscues.

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In other winter sports action:

BOYS BASKETBALL

— Farrell 49, Lakeview 46 — At Farrell, the Steelers (12-4, 12-7) outscored the Sailors 31-22 in the 2nd half to earn the Region 1 win.

Lakeview (11-5, 11-7) led 13-6 after the opening quarter and 24-18 at halftime before Farrell outscored the Sailors 15-8 in the 3rd and 16-14 in the final frame.

Trian Holden had 16 points to lead the way for Farrel, Lamont Samuels bucketed 11, and Jaiman Holden added 10 points.

Anthony Grim led Lakeview with 12 points, Hunter Miller collected 11, and Gavin Grantham scored 9.

— Jamestown 58, Reynolds 49 — At Jamestown, the host Muskies manufactured 51 points during the game's final 24 minutes to overcome an early 4-point deficit in the Region 1 affair.

Both teams were coming off Monday night wins — Jamestown, 69-43 over Commodore Perry; Reynolds, 53-39 over Rocky Grove.

The quartet of Peyton McElhinny (18), Cameron Keyser (11) and Dan Parks and Josh Hill (10 apiece) paced Jamestown (4-12, 8-14). Reynolds (6-9, 6-9) was led by Riley Walker and Aidan Mull, with 13 and 10 points, respectively.

The Muskies made 8 of 18 freebies, compared with the Raiders' 4-for-8 effort.

— Grand River Academy 48, Hickory 35 — At Austinburg, Ohio, GRA (10-7) handed the Hornets (18-3) its 3rd loss of the season as Hickory closed out its regular season schedule.

The only other teams to beat Hickory this season are Cathedral Prep and Erie.

GRA led 28-20 at halftime and outscored Hickory 20-15 in the 2nd half on Tuesday night.

KJ Odour led GRA with 16 points, Ricky Okeyo scored 14, and Arzika Seibou added 7 markers.

Peyton Mele had 14 points, 2 rebounds, 3 steals and 4 assists for the Hornets, Connor Evans contributed 12 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 assists, and Jackson Pryts grabbed 6 rebounds.

— Slippery Rock 70, Rocky Grove 57 — At Franklin, Ethan Plesakov rifled in 21 points and John Sabo scored 20 as the Region 4 Rockets (6-13) defeated the Orioles (4-14) of Region 1.

Slippery Rock trailed 15-11 after 8 minutes of play and 29-28 at the break. The Rockets outscored the Orioles 19-14 in the 3rd quarter and 23-14 in the final frame.

Dylan Gordon added 13 points for Slippery Rock and Sam Schwartz added 7 markers.

Caden Toscano and Isaac Clayton had 19 points each for Rocky Grove and Quinn Ritchey chipped in 7 points.

GIRLS HOOPS

— West Middlesex 60, Reynolds 36 — At West Middlesex, Coach Mike Williams' Ms. Reds opened its 2nd straight day of doubleheader games with a Region 1 win over the Raiders (6-8, 8-9).

On Monday, WM opened the day with a loss to Kennedy Catholic and then beat Rocky Grove in the nightcap.

Emily Anthony drained 5 treys en route to 19 points for the Ms. Reds, Carlie Beatty bucketed 16 points, and Caitlin Stephens chipped in 8 markers.

For Reynolds, which was coming off a win over Commodore Perry Monday, Halle Murcko had 10 points, Chloe McLaughlin contributed 6 markers, and Abby and Lea Miller chipped in 5 each.

— West Middlesex 48, Mercer 35 — In the nightcap at West Middlesex, Anthony scored 16 points as the Reds (10-2, 11-4) grabbed the Region 1 win.

Taylor Tomko added 12 points for WM and Carlie Beatty scored 9.

Julia Balaski posted 10 points for Mercer (8-6, 11-8), which was coming off a win over Sharon on Monday, Peyton Miller scored 8 points, and Delaney Fisher chipped in 6 markers.

— Grove City 42, Sharpsville 13 — At Grove City, the Region 5 Lady Eagles (14-3) rebounded from Monday's loss at McDowell with a win over Region 4 Sharpsville (7-8).

Clara Hannon led Grove City with 15 points, Becca Santom scored 12, Hannah Reiber contributed 9 points and Emma Santom grabbed 7 rebounds.

Chasie Fry and Tori Kimpan scored 4 points each for Sharpsville.

— Lakeview 47, Franklin 27 — At Stoneboro, Coach Gary Burke's Region 4 co-champ Lady Sailors (15-3) closed out the regular season with a win over Region 5 Franklin (8-12).

Reese Gadsby and Amber Sefton led the way for Lakeview with 11 points apiece and Sophia DiMaria added 8 points.

Lakeview was coming off a 55-34 road win at Union City on Monday night.

For Franklin, Camdon Bashor and Lauren Billingsley had 8 points each and Zelika Hartle contributed 7.

ICE HOCKEY

— Neshannock 3, Bishop Canevin 1 — At Hess Ice Rink in New Castle, the division rivals battled in a physical, penalty-filled game.

The visiting Crusaders dominated the first period by outshooting the Lancers, 18-6, and putting one puck past Neshannock goalie Riley Mastowski (Kennedy Catholic) to take their only lead of the night,1-0.

Midway through the 2nd period Neshannock tied the match on a Santino Multari (Kennedy Catholic) power-play goal set up by Colton Chamberlain and Tommy Malvar (Kennedy Cathollic) for the only goal of the period and a 1-all deadlock.

Two minutes into the 3rd period, Malvar put the Lancers in the lead with an assist from Dom Rocca. With 7 minutes remaining and Neshannock on a power play Davey Cochenour (Kennedy Catholic) deflected a Multari shot to close the scoring for the victorious Lancers.

Mastowski stopped 29 of 30 shots in goal for the Lancers, who widened their lead over Canevin to 8 points — with the Crusaders having 3 games in hand.

BOYS BASKETBALL

GREENVILLE 14 4 19 13 50

SHARPSVILLE 15 14 14 19 62

GREENVILLE — Cano 4-0-0-9, J.Lentz 5-0-0-10, Cianci 2-2-2-6, Ritzert 7-1-1-18, L.Lentz 0-1-2-1, Bielata 3-0-0-6, Reeves 0-0-0-0, Kincaid 0-0-0-0, Stubert 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Cano 1, Ritzert 1. Totals: 22-4-5-50.

SHARPSVILLE — Doyle 6-3-4-19, Ladjevich 1-11-14-13, Thomas 5-3-6-13, Staunch 2-4-9-8, Ramsey 1-0-0-3, Frye 1-0-0-2, Henwood 0-1-2-1, Levis 1-0-0-2. 3-pt. goals: Doyle 4, Ladjevich 1, Ramsey 1. Totals: 17-22-35-62.

JV: Greenville, 40-33. Noah Philson 14, Jase Herrick 10, Soren Hedderick 8 points for Greenville; Andrew Frye 13, Garen Levis 10 for Sharpsville.

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LAKEVIEW 13 11 8 14 46

FARRELL 6 12 15 16 49

LAKEVIEW — Grim 4-4-5-12, Miller 5-1-3-11, Lightcap 2-0-0-5, Smith 2-0-0-4, Grantham 4-0-0-9, Pence 2-1-2-5, Wilkins 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Lightcap 1, Grantham 1. Totals: 19-6-10-46.

FARRELL — Hartley 1-0-1-2, T. Holden 5-6-8-16, Stewart 2-2-2-6, J. Holden 3-1-4-10, Samuels 2-6-8-11, Rain 2-0-0-4. 3-pt. goals: J. Holden 3, Samuels 1. Totals: 15-15-23-49.

JV: Farrell, 41-36. Kylon Wlon 16 for Farrell. Cameron Pence 12 for Lakeview.

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REYNOLDS 11 7 12 19 49

JAMESTOWN 7 17 15 19 58

REYNOLDS — McLaughlin 3-0-0-8, Walker 6-0-0-13, Small 1-0-0-3, D.Williams 3-2-5-8, Mull 4-2-3-10, J.Williams 0-0-0-0, Tofani 0-0-0-0, Loposky 3-0-0-7. 3-pt. goals: McLaughlin 2, Walker 1, Small 1, Loposky 1. Totals: 20-4-8-49.

JAMESTOWN — D.Parks 5-0-3-10, Hill 3-4-5-10, S.McElhinny 2-0-0-5, P.McElhinny 6-4-7-18, Keyser 5-0-0-11, Ford 1-0-0-2, Popielarcheck 2-0-3-4, C.Parks 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: P.McElhinny 2, S.McElhinny 1, Keyser 1. Totals: 24-8-18-58.

JV: No score reported.

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HICKORY 10 10 7 8 35

GRAND RIVER 13 15 12 8 48

HICKORY — P. Mele 5-1-1-14, T. Mele 1-0-0-3, Hudson 0-0-0-0, Fazzone 1-0-1-2, Pryts 2-0-0-4, Evans 6-0-2-12, Ristvey 0-0-2-0. 3-pt. goals: P. Mele 3, T. Mele 1. Totals: 15-1-6-35.

GRAND RIVER ACADEMY — Seibou 2-3-4-7, Ndelijkovic 1-0-0-2, Vico 0-0-0-0, Odour 7-2-6-16, Dieterle 2-0-0-5, Mohammed 2-0-0-4, Okeyo 7-0-1-14. 3-pt. goal: Dieterle 1. Totals: 21-5-11-48.

JV: Hickory, 41-27. Devin Daniels 14 for Hickory (14-0, 18-1).

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SLIPP. ROCK 11 17 19 23 70

ROCKY GROVE 15 14 14 14 57

SLIPPERY ROCK — Sabo 6-8-11-20, Plesakov 8-1-2-21, Wolak 2-1-2-5, Gordon 4-3-4-13, Vogan 2-0-0-4, Schwartz 2-1-2-7. 3-pt. goals: Plesakov 4, Gordon 2, Schwartz 2. Totals: 24-14-21-70.

ROCKY GROVE — Toscano 9-1-4-19, Whitman 2-0-2-4, Clayton 6-3-3-19, Zinz 2-1-3-5, Stevenson 1-0-0-3, Ritchey 1-4-5-7, Wolfgong 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Clayton 4, Stevenson 1. Ritchey 1. Totals: 21-9-17-57.

JV: No score reported.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

REYNOLDS 8 14 8 6 36

W.MIDDLESEX 13 15 23 9 60

REYNOLDS — Bresnan 0-0-1-0, A. Hillyer 1-0-0-2, Murcko 4-1-2-10, A. Miller 2-1-2-5, L. Miller 2-1-2-5, Mull 2-0-0-4, McLaughlin 2-0-0-6, Herman 2-0-3-4. 3-pt. goals: McLaughlin 2, Murcko 1. Totals: 15-3-10-36.

WEST MIDDLESEX — Tomko 1-1-4-4, Anthony 6-2-4-19, K. Beatty 2-1-2-5, C. Beatty 7-2-2-16, Kalp 0-1-2-1, Briggs 1-0-0-2, Mild 2-0-0-5, Bowers 0-0-0-0, Blaze 0-0-1-0, Stephens 2-4-4-8. 3-pt. goals: Anthony 5, Tomko 1, Mild 1. Totals: 21-11-19-60.

JV: No game.

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MERCER 8 9 16 2 35

W.MIDDLESEX 17 11 13 7 48

MERCER — Fisher 3-0-0-6, P. Miller 3-2-3-8, Balaski 5-0-2-10, Grossman 0-3-6-3, Baker 0-2-2-2, Morneweck 2-0-0-4, G. Godfrey 1-0-0-2. Totals: 14-7-13-35.

WEST MIDDLESEX — Tomko 2-7-9-12, Anthony 6-3-4-16, K. Beatty 1-0-0-2, C. Beatty 2-5-6-9, Mild 2-0-0-4, Stephens 2-1-2-5. 3-pt. goals: Tomko 1, Anthony 1. Totals: 15-16-21-48.

JV: No game.

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SHARPSVILLE 2 2 6 3 13

GROVE CITY 9 11 15 7 42

SHARPSVILLE — Doyle 0-0-0-0, Kratko 0-0-1-0, Fry 2-0-0-4, Kimpan 2-0-0-4, Messett 0-0-0-0, Springer 0-0-0-0, Davis 0-3-4-3, Hanley 1-0-2-2, Grandy 0-0-0-0, Ritenour 0-0-0-0. Totals: 5-3-7-13.

GROVE CITY — Hannon 6-0-0-15, Como 1-0-0-2, Lewis 2-0-0-4, Hammel 0-0-0-0, Perample 0-0-0-0, B. Santom 5-2-2-12, E. Santom 0-0-0-0, Reiber 3-0-0-9, Collins 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Hannon 3, Reiber 3. Totals: 17-2-2-42.

JV: No game.

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FRANKLIN 5 8 7 7 27

LAKEVIEW 10 13 9 15 47

FRANKLIN — Bashor 3-2-2-8, Phipps 2-0-1-4, Hartle 2-1-2-7, Billingsley 2-2-2-8, Adams 0-0-0-0, Jam. Blum 0-0-0-0, Ekis 0-0-0-0, Drayer-Dean 0-0-0-0, LaJuenesse 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Hartle 2, Billingsley 2. Totals: 9-5-7-27.

LAKEVIEW — Booher 1-0-0-3, Gadsby 5-1-2-11, Sefton 5-0-2-11, Olsen 2-0-0-4, Sontheimer 0-0-0-0, Peltonen 2-0-0-4, Seddon 1-0-0-3, P. Cole 1-0-0-2, DiMaria 4-0-2-8, Chaffee 0-1-2-1, E. Cole 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Booher 1, Sefton 1, Seddon 1. Totals: 21-2-8-47.

JV: Lakeview, 38-24. Ava Ekis 10 for Franklin.