COWBOYS RIDE COMES TO A STOP
BARBERTON, Ohio –
After dominating their way through the Northeast 2 district, the Chaney Cowboys (12-7) traveled to Barberton for a neutral site matchup with the surprise winner of the Northeast 4 district, Gilmour Academy (11-9).
The #10 seeded Gilmour Academy upset the district favorite, Warrensville Heights, in the district semi-finals then defeated fellow cinderella story, #11 seeded Padua Franciscan, for the district title.
Chaney, the clear favorite in this matchup, jump started the night thanks to a pair of three pointers from senior guard Sharrod Taylor. By the end of the first quarter of play, the Cowboys were up 15-5.
Trailing by 10, the Gilmour Academy Lancers came out inspired in the second quarter of play. Led by Ben DeMell’s 11 second quarter points, the Lancers were able to close the Cowboy’s lead to just 3 point with 2 minutes to play. Thanks to an offensive rebound and put back score from Quincy Jones, the Cowboys got their lead back out to 5 to end the half.
Coming out of the locker room, Gilmour’s Ben DeMell continued his stellar play. The 6-foot-5 senior scored 9 straight points for the Lancers, playing a key role in tying the game up with just 30 seconds to play in the 3rd.
Usually dominant on the offensive glass, the Cowboys had no answer for Gilmour Academy’s size. Taking their first lead of the game with 7 minutes remaining, the Lancers packed in the paint and forced the Cowboy’s to shoot.
Unfortunately for Chaney, they went cold just as the Lancers got hot. Scoring 22-points in the final quarter of play, Gilmour Academy completed another upset on their postseason run, defeating Chaney 59-52.
LEADING SCORERS:
Chaney
Sharrod Taylor – 18 points
Quincy Jones – 11 points
Cam Lawrence – 8 points
Gilmour Academy
Ben DeMell – 26 points
Ryan Mueller – 11 points
UP NEXT:
In a regional matchup that could have held two valley teams, will now see zero. With their win, Gilmour Academy will move on to compete for the Regional championship, where they must faceoff with Saint Vincent Saint Mary. Saint V’s defeated Struthers 76-37 in the regional semi-finals.
*Contributed By YSN’s Jamie Thomson
