EAGLES TOO MUCH FOR CHAMPION
WARREN, OH – On a cold Tuesday night, the Champion Flashes shot down over to the Gillen Gymnasium to face off against the John F. Kennedy Eagles. This heated rivalry ended in a hard-fought battle on both sides of the ball, with Kennedy victorious 60-54.
The first and second quarter stayed even nearly the entire time. The end score in the first quarter being 12-12 and the second quarter 23-23. Abe Bayos of Champion led his team in the first quarter with 4 two-pointers. Bobby Plizga of Kennedy led his team in the first quarter with 6 points in total. The first half for Kennedy was played rather sloppy with 10 fouls in the first half while Champion only had 3.
The second half started off with a bang with back to back 3 point shots made by Saba Svani of Kennedy and one 3 for Luke Zigarovich of Champion. The 3rd quarter was clean up significantly by Kennedy while it seemed like the roles switched, for Champion was the team with messy play. However, with 1.4 seconds left in the quarter, Champion received the ball and made a quick two-point shot at the buzzard. There was finally a point differential at the end of a quarter when at the end of the third, it was 43-38 Champion with the lead.
The final quarter of the game consisted of consistent passing connections on both sides of the ball, but Kennedy with the edge slightly. This was a theme that kept up for Kennedy throughout the rest of the 4th quarter for they scored 11 more points in total than Champion. The Flashes could not handle the consistent pace of the Eagles and were struggling to get meaningful possession of the ball. The game ended with Kennedy winning 60-54 with 22 points in the fourth quarter while Champion had 11.
Leading the Eagles in scoring was Saba Svani with 21 points with 4 three’s on the night. Leading the Flashes for the night was Abe Bayos with 19 points and 5 for 6 at the free-throw line. John F. Kennedy now increases to 4-11 on the season and Champion now at 8-8. Kennedy will play Andrews Osborne Academy on January 30 and Champion will play Memorial on January 31.
*Story contributed by Dom O’Brien
