Roundup: Tigers avenge 33-point loss with 64-53 win over Sharpsville
Feb. 26—SHARPSVILLE — Moments into Wednesday's Sharon vs. Sharpsville Shenango Valley showdown, Brayden Coxson completely laid out, diving for a loose ball.
At the time, his Tigers' team had won 5 games.
Coxson's competitive heart typified the Tigers' turnabout from a 33-point home loss to Sharpsville on Jan. 7 into a 64-53 Region 4 road upset.
"They've kept coming to work. We had some momentum building a while ago and we're startin' to build it back up, so it's good to see," admitted 6th-season Sharon skipper Zach Sarver. "Our three seniors, you can tell they're layin' it all out there 'cause they know that window's closing for them.
"That's just one of those plays, and all three of those guys (Coxson, Shawn Hill and Brett Salsgiver) did that. And the special part is the young guys did it, too, and that's how you get to be a really good team when they're on the floor," Sarver said.
In spite of 4 first-half deadlocks and a half-dozen lead changes Sharon secured an 11-9 lead, then extended its edge to 28-22 by the break. With Otis Driver delivering 10 of his team-high 18 tallies, Sharon surged to a 46-39 lead through 3 periods.
A minute-and-a-half into the 4th frame, Hill hit a corner trey and the Tigers took a commanding 55-41 lead before Sharpsville skipper Matt Durisko hailed a time-out.
Sharon shot well (28 for 49, 57.1%) and shared the ball (21 assists). Hill and Driver dished out 5 dimes apiece, Connor Porterfield produced 4 helpers, as did Salsgiver, and Coxson collected 3.
"Every time, typically in our (region), the team that passes the ball best is at the top of the league. They're the best on offense, the most efficient on offense," Sarver assessed. "We haven't had that this year. So to hear that we shot the ball well and we had a bunch of assists, it makes perfect sense 'cause you make that extra pass, you get that better look. You're stronger with the basketball ... and those sort of things result in better shots, and it's something we've preached for six years now, and kids buy into that."
Sharpsville (7-5, 11-8) may have left its legs in Hermitage on Tuesday night. The Blue Devils battled unbeaten Hickory before falling at The Hive, 52-47. Reflecting on that Sharon setback to Sharpsville 8 weeks ago, Sarver said,
"I think we caught 'em at a good time. (The Blue Devils) had an up-and-down, emotional, physical game (Tuesday) night, and our guys — I don't want to say they had a chip on their shoulder — but they knew they didn't play great that night (Jan. 7) and Sharpsville really stuck it to us that night. So there was a little bit of that comin' back into it.
"But we've talked about getting back to where we were and playing our best basketball here at the end, and we're startin' to figure out how we're doing that to be successful," Sarver continued, adding, "So it was as much about us saying, 'Hey, we have everybody here together, we're startin' to figure out our roles and how to be successful, so let's see what we can do against one of the better teams in our league.'"
Driver (18 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists), Salsgiver (13 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists), Coxson (9 points, team-high 9 rebounds, 3 assists), Hill (11 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds) and Porterfield (11 point, 6 rebounds, 4 assists) sparked Sharon (5-8, 6-11).
Ryan Ladjevich led Sharpsville with a 17-point, 11-rebound, 3-assist line, while James Thomas tallied 15 points and hauled down 8 boards, and Mack Staunch scored 11 and added 8 rebounds. But Blue Devils' newly-minted career 1,000-point scorer Jackson Doyle dished out a team-high 4 dimes, but scored just 6 points on 2-for-14 shooting.
Regarding Sharon, Sarver said, "I think our kids have pride. Sometimes we've just gotta get it out of them. But it's definitely come out, and, again, I think it goes to those three seniors and the other guys rallying around them. It speaks to them.
"They've been around some good teams. Really small roles as sophomores, more important roles last year, and now they're playin' their best basketball at the end of the year, so we get an invitation next week for the (District 10) playoffs, hopefully, and see what happens at that point. I like our group. They've always come to practice to work to improve — with the practices we've been able to have — so you're happy for them to see that pay off."
Notes: Sharpsville shot 21 for 62 from the floor (33.8%) and converted just 7 of 13 free-throw attempts. ... The Tigers turned it over 16 times; the Blue Devils 11. ... Smaller Sharon secured a 36-30 rebounding margin. ... The win was Sarver's 100th at Sharon (100-53).
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In other winter sports action:
BOYS BASKETBALL
— Union 75, Wilmington 70 — At New Wilmington, Matthew Stanley rifled in 30 points to lead the WPIAL's Scotties (7-4) to a close win over the Hounds (1-18).
Wilmington led 35-26 at halftime, but Union outscored Wilmington 18-13 in the 3rd quarter and 31-22 in the 4th.
Anthony Stanley added 10 points for the Scotties, Elijah Booker bucketed 9, and Mike Mrozek and Mark Stanley contributed 8 points each.
Mason Reed led Wilmington with 24 points, Weston Phanco had 18 markers, Ethan Susen scored a dozen, and Luke Edwards added 9 points.
GIRLS HOOPS
OHSAA
DIV. III PLAYOFFS
Region 9, Northeast 1 Sectional/District
Semifinals
— Brookfield 45, Crestview 34 — At Brookfield, the 3rd time was the charm for Coach Ken Forsythe's Lady Warriors (17-3) as they defeated Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference foe Crestview (15-10).
Brookfield led 23-16 at halftime and 27-24 after 3 quarters. The Warriors pulled away by outscoring the Lady Rebels from Columbiana 18-10 in the 4th.
Sophia Hook rifled in 24 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead 3rd-seeded Brookfield, Audrey Reardon scored 10 points and dished out 5 assists, and Katie Logan added 7 points and 4 steals.
Mara Halas had 14 points for 6th-seeded Crestview and Krista Perry chipped in 9 points.
Crestview won both regular-season games 37-28 and 44-35.
Brookfield advances to Saturday's district championship game at 1 p.m. They play at top-seeded South Range, who routed No. 15 seed East Palestine, 70-25, on Wednesday night.
— Farrell 48, Lakeview 40 — At Farrell's E.J. McCluskey Gymnasium, Coach Ed Turosky's Region 1 Lady Steelers (13-4) outscored the Region 4 Sailors 21-0 in the 4th quarter to earn the win.
Lakeview led 14-8 after 8 minutes of play, but Farrell rallied to take a 22-21 lead at the break. The Sailors outscored the Steelers 19-5 in the 3rd quarter to take a 40-27 lead into the final frame, but Farrell came storming back to earn the win.
Sanaa Brodie fired in 20 points to lead Farrell and Deryah Stewart drained 4 field goals and went 11-of-12 from the charity stripe for 19 points.
Reese Gadsby led Lakeview with 13 points, Amber Sefton bucketed 10, and Dani Sontheimer contributed 9 points on 3 treys.
— Grove City 49, Sharon 15 — At Tiger Gymnasium in Sharon, the Region 5 Lady Eagles improved to 12-2 with the win over Region 4 Sharon (5-14).
Grove City led 15-5 at the end of the opening quarter and 37-9 at halftime en route to the win.
Clara Hannon led Grove City with 13 points, Piper Como added 9 points, and Becca Santom scored 8.
LayRonica Gash and Tay Chester had 6 points each for Sharon and Jaysina Sellers chipped in 3 points.
The game featured three 1,000-point scorers in GC's Hannon and Santom and Sharon's Sellers.
— Rocky Grove 35, Jamestown 30 (3OT) — At Franklin, the Lady Orioles (1-9, 1-9) pulled out the Region 1 win over the Muskies (1-9, 1-11) in triple overtime.
The game ended in regulation tied at 25-all. Both teams scored 4 points in the 1st overtime session and neither team scored in the 2nd OT. Rocky Grove outscored Jamestown 6-1 in the 3rd OT.
Abby Williams had a game-high 17 points for Rocky Grove and Rylee Reed added 7 points.
Staci Weimert led Jamestown with 10 points while Leni Keener, Taylor Keener, Savannah Thurber, and Sara Stevenson all collected 5 points.
The two teams play again tonight in Jamestown. It is Senior Night for the Muskies.
— Mercer 37, Reynolds 29 — At Mercer, Coach Aaron Cook's Lady M's (8-5, 10-6) outscored Reynolds 24-8 in the 2nd half to earn the Region 1 win.
Reynolds led 11-3 after 8 minutes and 21-13 at the break before Mercer rallied for the win in the 2nd half — outscoring the Raiders 14-5 in the 3rd quarter and 10-3 in the 4th.
Peyton Miller led Mercer with 14 points, Julia Balaski bucketed 13, and Kenzie Baker contributed 8 markers.
Halle Murcko led the way for Reynolds (4-5, 6-6) with 11 points and Mackenzie Herman chipped in 6 points.
ICE HOCKEY
— Neshannock 9, Burrell 3 — At Hess Ice Rink, Neshannock Twp., Senior Night was celebrated.
Burrell jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 1rst minute and a half of play. Patrick Cionni tied the match, with Lex Moses (HIckory) assisting. Senior Santino Multari (Kennedy Catholic) put Neshannock up, 2-1, with a helper going to Micah DeJulia (Hickory). Fifteen seconds later Giovannni Valentine found the back of the net with help from Colton Chamberlain) and Multari. Multari then added an unassisted goal to give Neshannock a 4-1 edge. Seven seconds later Giovanni Valentine tallied again on an assist from senior Hunter Harris (Grove City) to close out the 1st-period scoring.
During the 2nd period, Chamberlain's power-play goal on a feed from Tommy Malvar (Kennedy Catholic)gave the Lancers a 6-1 lead. Burrell scored 2 goals at the end of the period and in the first minute of the 3rd period to cut Neshannocks' lead to 6-3. Midway through the 3rd period Multari tallied his hat trick goal with an end-to-end rush. Moments later Harris picked up a power-play goal with assists going to Malvar and Multari. Multari scored his 4th goal of the evening on a pass from senior Zach Steighner to close out the scoring.
Senior Andrew Bovo stopped 15 Buccaneers' shots to clinch the win in goal. Other Neshannock seniors are Jake Caravella, Riley Novotny, Jason Kramer and Gage Giordano.
The Lancers travel to Brady's Run Park, Beaver Falls, to face Central Valley today at 9:05 p.m.
BOYS BASKETBALL
SHARON 11 17 18 18 64
SHARPSVILLE 9 13 17 14 53
SHARON — Coxson 3-2-2-9, Hill 5-0-1-11, Porterfield 4-3-4-11, Driver 9-0-1-18, Salsgiver 6-0-0-13, Nixon 1-0-0-2, Wilder 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Coxson 1, Salsgiver 1, Hill 1. Totals: 28-5-8-64.
SHARPSVILLE — Doyle 2-2-2-6, Ladjevich 6-3-8-17, Thomas 7-1-1-15, Staunch 4-1-2-11, Ramsey 2-0-0-4, Henwood 0-0-0-0, Frye 0-0-0-0, Levis 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Ladjevich 2, Staunch 2. Totals: 21-7-13-53.
JV: Sharon, 49-45. Labron Wilder 14 points, Santino Piccirilli 8 for Sharon; Andrew Frye 16, Chris Trontel 14 for Sharpsville.
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UNION 9 17 18 31 75
WILMINGTON 17 18 13 22 70
UNION — Booker 3-0-0-9, Mrozek 3-0-0-8, Taylor 0-0-0-0, Nealy 1-0-0-2, Matthew Stanley 9-11-11-30, J. Vitale 0-0-0-0, N. Vitale 1-1-2-4, Fisher 0-2-2-2, Lombardo 0-0-0-0, Mark Stanley 4-0-0-8, Porter 0-0-0-0, A. Stanley 4-1-2-10, Gunn 0-2-2-2, Staub 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Booker 3, Mrozek 2, Matthew Stanley 1, N. Vitale 1, A. Stanley 1. Totals: 25-17-19-75.
WILMINGTON — A. Reed 0-0-0-0, Edwards 2-4-6-9, Susen 5-1-4-12, Shimrack 3-1-2-7, Hess 0-0-0-0, M. Reed 9-4-4-24, Phanco 6-5-7-18. 3-pt. goals: M. Reed 2, Edwards 1, Susen 1, Phanco 1. Totals: 25-15-23-70.
JV: No score reported.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
OHSAA DIV. III PLAYOFFS
Region 9, Northeast 1
Sectional/District
Semifinals
CRESTVIEW 7 9 8 10 34
BROOKFIELD 14 9 4 18 45
CRESTVIEW — Hill 2-0-0-5, Halas 6-0-0-14, Moore 0-0-0-0, Schultz 1-0-0-2, Perry 2-5-6-9, Huff 2-0-0-4, Hughes 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Halas 2, Hill 1. Totals: 13-5-6-35.
BROOKFIELD — Reardon 4-0-0-10, Logan 3-1-2-7, Hook 6-9-9-24, Gibson 0-0-0-0, Reichart 2-0-0-4, Sirochman 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Hook 3, Reardon 2. Totals: 15-10-11-45.
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LAKEVIEW 14 7 19 0 40
FARRELL 8 14 5 21 48
LAKEVIEW — Gadsby 4-2-4-13, Sefton 3-2-2-10, Olson 0-0-0-0, Sontheimer 3-0-0-9, Peltonen 0-0-0-0, Seddon 1-0-0-2, P. Cole 0-0-0-0, DiMaria 1-2-2-4, Chaffee 1-0-0-2. 3-pt. goals: Gadsby 3, Sontheimer 3, Sefton 2. Totals: 13-6-8-40.
FARRELL — Burns 0-2-2-2, Stewart 4-11-12-19, Brodie 10-0-3-20, King 1-1-2-3, Green 2-0-2-4. Totals: 17-14-21-48.
JV: No game.
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GROVE CITY 15 22 4 8 49
SHARON 5 4 3 3 15
GROVE CITY — Hannon 4-2-2-13, Como 4-0-0-9, Lewis 3-0-0-6, Hammel 1-0-0-2, Perample 1-0-0-2, B. Santom 3-2-2-8, E. Santom 1-0-0-2, Callahan 2-0-2-4, White 0-0-0-0, Reiber 1-1-2-3, Severson 0-0-0-0, Collins 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Hannon 3, Como 1. Totals: 20-5-8-49.
SHARON — Chester 2-1-2-6, Hurst 0-0-0-0, Sellers 1-1-2-3, McGhee 0-0-0-0, Gash 3-0-0-6, Valperga 0-0-0-0, Hasan 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goal: Chester 1. Totals: 6-2-4-15.
JV: No score reported.
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J-TOWN 2 9 8 6 4 0 1 30
R. GROVE 9 5 3 8 4 0 6 35
JAMESTOWN — S. Weimert 4-1-6-10, L. Keener 2-1-6-5, T. Keener 2-0-3-5, Varano 0-0-0-0, Thurber 2-1-2-5, A. Weimert 0-0-0-0, Stevenson 2-1-3-5. 3-pt. goals: S. Weimert 1, T. Keener 1. Totals: 12-4-20-30.
ROCKY GROVE — Cresswell 1-0-0-2, Williams 5-6-9-17, Montgomery 1-0-0-2, Rice 1-1-2-3, Kee 2-0-0-4, Reed 2-3-8-7. 3-pt. goal: Williams 1. Totals: 12-10-19-35.
JV: No game.
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REYNOLDS 11 10 5 3 29
MERCER 3 10 14 10 37
REYNOLDS — McLaughlin 2-0-0-4, Murcko 4-1-2-11, Zachrich 1-0-0-2, L. Miller 0-0-0-0, Herman 3-0-1-6, A. Miller 1-0-0-2, Mull 0-4-4-4. 3-pt. goals: Murcko 2. Totals: 11-5-7-29.
MERCER — Fisher 0-2-3-2, Balaski 4-5-7-13, G. Godfrey 0-0-0-0, Baker 3-0-0-8, Grossman 0-0-0-0, P. Miller 5-4-6-14, Morneweck 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Baker 2. Totals: 12-11-16-37.
JV: Mercer, 38-8. Pressley Washil 10 for Mercer.
