LABRAE GETS SEPARATION FROM THE TIGERS
By Matt Maher
NEWTON FALLS, OH – After an exhilarating finish to a double Overtime Junior Varsity nail biter, The Varsity squads for LaBrae and Newton Falls were ready to take to the hardwood and and try to top the play we saw from JV and boy did they deliver as the final score saw LaBrae top Newton Falls 58-48.
The Tigers struck first on a free throw from Landon McGregor only to have LaBrae come back the other way and take the lead. The majority of the first saw the lead switch between the two teams by just one point until Jay McGarry and company settled down and took control of the quarter that they ended up winning 19-13. McGarry would put up 10 points for the Vikings and Jabriel Rufai would start off his extremely impressive night with 8 points for The Falls.
LaBrae wouldn’t let up in the second and continued to show an impressive drive by putting up 13 points to Newton Falls 9. David Blackmon would shine bright in this frame by putting up 6 points while Derek Wilson found 5. On the other side of the floor Rufai would find 7 more points putting him at 15 points for the first half alone! LaBrae would take a 32-22 lead into halftime but Newton falls would have something to say heading into the third.
The Tigers caught fire coming out of the break and the score reflected that with The Falls scoring 18 points to LaBrae’s 11. The Quarter was dominated by Rufai by putting up 11 points including a nice three pointer near the end of the quarter. Austin Rowe and Blackmon both put up 4 points for LaBrae and McGarry got back on the board by putting up a three. Newton Falls would close the gap and trail 43-40 going into the final frame.
While the Tigers found some life in the third they just couldn’t find the same production in the fourth and would only find 8 points to the Vikings 15. Rufai found 5 more points rounding off his night with a staggering 31 points on the night which is more than some teams find in a single game! David Blackmon continued his impressive night of scoring with 6 more points allowing him to finish with 18 points which led his team in scoring with Derek Wilson finishing three points shy with 15 and Jay McGarry with 13.
Despite good defense and the living cheat code of Jabriel Rufai connecting the Tigers just couldn’t get past the solid team play of the Vikings. LaBrae will continue to stay undefeated in the MVAC sitting at 3-0 while Newton Falls falls to 1-2 to start off this season. LaBrae Hits the court again when they host Bristol on December 22nd at 7:00PM and Newton Falls will stay at home when they host Howland on December 22nd at 7:ooPM as well.
