COWBOYS END UP ON TOP IN ANOTHER THRILLER

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio –

THE LEAD UP

On the heels of a gut wrenching one point defeat at the hands of the Boardman Spartans, Coach McGaughy and his Chaney Cowboys (3-1) played host to the Warren G Harding Raiders (1-2).

Jumping out to an early 21-10 lead at the end of the first, the Raiders were giving Chaney flashbacks to last Friday night. Boardman’s recipe for success against the Cowboys was the ability to run their offense at the pace they wanted to play paired with the ability to limit turnovers. Since the Chaney basketball program was reborn in 2018, the Cowboys have boasted a brand of high-octaneoffense fueled by their smothering turnover driven defense.

Settling into their offense in the half court theCowboys were able to cut the Harding lead to single digits and would eventually tie the game before heading into the break. The Cowboys never held the lead in the first half.

Opening the third on a 10-3 run highlighted by Tyriq Ivory’s 6 early second half points, the Raiders were back out in front, but signs of exhaustion began to appear.

By the time the final stanza came around, the Cowboys trailed by 7, but Coach McGaughy’s depth on the bench was able to keep his young men fresh. Throughout the first 3 quarters,Harding’s senior leaders, Dom Foster and Tyriq Ivory, had hardly spent a minute combined off the floor.

The dynamic duo of Foster and Ivory combined for 23 first half points but only saw 15 go down in the second half of play. The Cowboys fast-pacedtempo had seemingly caught up to the Raiders, allowing Chaney to outscore their opponent by 8 in the fourth.

THE SHOT

Trailing by 5 with less than 15 seconds to go andthe score at 71-65, Harding’s Ivory pushed the ball up the court and banked a three pointer in to make it a one possession game.

Without any timeouts remaining, the Raiders were unable to stop the clock with less than 9 seconds to go but after the Chaney inbound pass would be stolen away by Duncan Moy, the Raiders were going to have a chance to tie. Moy backed the ball out beyond the arc before passing it off to Patien Stevenson. Stevenson would pump fake, side dribble, then bank home a shot to seemingly tie the game as time expired.

The Harding crowd erupted as this already incredible matchup was heading to overtime. The only problem? The officials caught Stevenson with his foot on the line, ruling his shot a two, and leaving the Raiders short by a single point, giving Chaney their third win of the season 71-70.

THE NUMBERS

CHANEY:

D’Juan Waller – 19 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals

Isiah Williams – 11 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals

Davinci McDowell – 10 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist

Clive Wilson – 9 points, 9 rebounds, 6 blocks

BOARDMAN:

Tyriq Ivory – 27 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists

Dom Foster – 13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists

Duncan Moy – 14 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists

WHAT’S NEXT

Chaney – Following their fourth straight game against a Division I opponent the Chaney Cowboys will finally take on someone their own size (at least in terms of enrollment) when they play host to the undefeated Howland Tigers (3-0), this Friday December 7th, at 7:00 pm.

Warren G Harding – Following their heartbreaking loss, the Warren G Harding Raiders will pack the buses and stay on the road for another away game, this time against the Massillon Washington Tigers (0-0).

*Contributed By YSN’s Jamie Thomson

Postgame Interview With Marlon McGaughy: