ROCKETS TURN ON AFTERBURNERS IN THE FOURTH
LOWELLVILLE OH- The MVAC had numerous conference games occurring Friday night. Including a sneaky matchup between #8 Lowellville Rockets and The Waterloo Vikings.
In a surprisingly late first matchup between the conference opponents, round one took place in Atwater with a great crowd on hand.
The lone senior starter for Lowellville, Justin Beeson, caught fire in the first for the rockets. As he nailed down three 3PT field goals in the first quarter!
However, Waterloo was using that crowd’s energy to their advantage! The Vikings kept it close in the first, trailing Lowellville 19-15 after one.
Defense was the name of the game in the first half for The Vikings, as sophomore starter Drew Flarida had a tough defensive assignment on Anthony Lucente for The Rockets. A matchup that Flarida held his own against the junior 1000 point scorer.
Waterloo was a bucket better than The Rockets in the second, winning the quarter 15-13, leaving Lowellville with a slim 32-30 halftime lead.
Navarre Alhassan provided the offensive spark for The Vikings, as he was responsible for 16 of Waterloo’s 30 halftime points.
Keeping it close in the first half lit a fire under the Atwater crowd, which propelled The Vikings in the third.
Defensively, Waterloo almost brought Lowellvilles offense to a halt. The Vikings won the third 10-7 and held a 40-39 lead going into the final eight minutes.
However, The Rockets blasted off in the fourth quarter, with multiple players scoring double digits to finish the night! With Lowellville’s defense locking it down, and Waterloo having a lid on the bucket, The Rockets avoided the upset and came out of Atwater victorious 57-47.
Lowellville had four different starters finish with 10 or more points.
Mark Dubos – 10 PTS
Vinny Ballone – 11 PTS
Justin Beeson – 14 PTS
Anthony Lucente – 13 PTS
Waterloo (6-12) will wait little time, with another home matchup, this time versus Rootstown (6-11) on Saturday, February 12th.
#8 Lowellville (16-3) will have a tough assignment, as Warren JFK (11-7) comes to town on Tuesday, February 15th.
*Contributed By YSN’s Ty Bartell
