BERLIN CENTER OH- In a game where Western Reserve was spending most of their time playing catch up to Jackson Milton, a late push was enough to give them a hard fought 59-52 win. The Blue Jays led at the end of the first three quarters, and although their lead never ballooned into a big problem, Reserve couldn’t seem to find a way to crack through. In the fourth quarter however it was a mix of timely shooting, and a few easy transition buckets that propelled the Blue Devils to win the frame 24-14.
It was a hard nose effort from Hayden Fellows that paved the way for Reserve. He was able to finish with a game-high 21 points. Dominick Ricciardi also finished in double figure for the Devils with 10. Luke Henning hit a pair of late threes on his way to 8 points.
Aaren Romigh was his same old self for the Blue Jays leading the scoring with 20 points. Ryan Romigh wasn’t too far behind him as he finished in double figures with 13 points. Ezekiel Brock chipped in 8 points for the Jays.
Western Reserve hits the road on Friday as they travel to Sebring. Jackson Milton returns home to face off with Mineral Ridge.
https://ysnlive.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/69821F56-642F-48DA-A10C-4B83BCCEA343.jpeg7661383Anthony Hartwighttps://ysnlive.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Default-Email-Signature-2673571-300x70.pngAnthony Hartwig2023-01-11 15:11:082023-01-11 15:11:08LATE SURGE PUSHES BLUE DEVILS AHEAD
STRUTHERS OH- The scope of the NE8 might be in a for a change this year. Every season since the conference’s conception it has been Poland and South Range as 1 & 2 in the standings. Struthers wanted to change all of that, and Monday night they had the chance to take a big step towards that goal. The Wildcats welcomed in South Range who they had never beaten inside conference play. They took South Range’s hardest punch but battled through with some clutch plays down the stretch to win 50-45.
Emma Morris led the way for the Wildcats with 10 points. Chloe Neider chipped in 9 points for the Wildcats. She was 7/8 at the free throw line. Faith Stellato was able to contribute 7 points. She hit a big three with a minute left in the game to put the Cats up by 2.
The Raiders were led by Sydney Penick who finished with a game-high 18 points. Taylor McClish was also in double figures for the Raiders with 10 points. Madison Dado put in six points as well.
Struthers is back in action on Thursday as they hit the road to Jefferson. South Range will return home to host Hubbard on Thursday.
https://ysnlive.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/B824DB9E-2298-4977-925F-FEE67ACEC35C.jpeg11541971Anthony Hartwighttps://ysnlive.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Default-Email-Signature-2673571-300x70.pngAnthony Hartwig2023-01-10 21:39:432023-01-10 21:39:43STRUTHERS FIGHTS PAST RAIDERS BEST SHOT
NILES OH- coming into the game, the Niles Red Dragons had a winning streak going, but in order to continue it, they would have to get past a Hubbard team that was looking to get their first win of the season and in 2023. Unfortunately for the Eagles that did not happen as Niles walked away with a big 79 to 61 victory over rival Hubbard.
Leading the squad was Sam Perrone, Stefan Dorsey and Anthony Budak, all three having 13 points. Matthew Kozak finished with 12 and had a triple double. Keyshon Talley would finish with 10 points, seven for Robert Strickland, five for Alex Fernandez, Yaunsene Blackmond with four and Nate Coots with a layup.
For Hubbard, Nikolas Hendrix and Javon Greene combined for 30 points and Gavin Rybicki finished with 30 points too.
Niles (8-3) will travel down to Jefferson to take on the Falcons while Hubbard will try to get their first win against Girard. After the game, Ian O’Brien caught up with coach Doug Foster and Matt Kozak.
*Contributed by YSNs Ian O’Brien*
https://ysnlive.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/3BCEACA2-9DC3-4CEE-80E8-570D84A1691C.jpeg298514Anthony Hartwighttps://ysnlive.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Default-Email-Signature-2673571-300x70.pngAnthony Hartwig2023-01-08 23:24:372023-01-08 23:24:37NILES SEES RED IN ANOTHER CONFERENCE WIN
On the first Friday of The New Year, boys basketball filled The YSN airwaves with 17 games, on the boys side alone, that entertained multiple counties throughout northeast Ohio. January also means conference play, which there was no shortage of, including that which occurred in Austintown, Ohio when two All-American Conference (AAC) foes met. When the reigning, defending, undisputed four-time consecutive conference champions in The Boardman Spartans traveled across town in their first matchup with Austintown-Fitch on the hardwood this season.
When speaking of The Spartans, they have been a conference juggernaut to say the least. Winning The AAC four straight years, two of which (2018-19, 2019-20) were in the old AAC-Red and the other two (2020-21, 2021-22) in The AAC we know today. But when speaking of Boardman against Austintown in particular, it has been a one-sided matchup. With The Spartan emerging victorious against The Falcons in 11 of their last 12 meetings, including a nine-game winning streak against Austintown heading into Friday night! The last time Fitch tasted victory against their foe? December of 2017, a five-year plus drought!
Through the first nine games of the season for both teams, it looked like a potential shift in the conference may be on the horizon, as teams such as Canfield (7-2), Fitch (6-3) and Howland (6-3) sporting solid records, while Boardman was 4-5. However, The Spartans looked to take that change of script, crumble it up and toss it directly in the trash on Friday night. Jumping out to a quick double-digit lead, Boardman led 16-6 after one quarter of play.As guys like senior Demarr Clark playing take over ball out of the gate on both sides of the floor. The second quarter saw The Spartans keep that same energy, while sophomore David D’Altorio joined the fun, knocking down a handful of threes as a distance deadeye that helped extend the Boardman lead to 14 points, 31-17 at the half.
Out of the half, Fitch looked to battle their way back in the conference bout. Falcon sophomore Carter Owens started to find his rhythm from the arc out to start the third, as Fitch started to finally see some shots fall and be able to throw some offensive punches back at The Spartans. Boardman was able to hold Austintown back enough after three, still maintaining a 43-34 lead entering the fourth quarter. To start the final eight minutes, Boardman had started to give the ball up by way of turnovers that propelled Fitch on an 11-0 run to start the final quarter, capped off by Austintown senior Gianni Maley converting an and-one, allowing The Falcons to take their first lead of the night 45-43! Boardman showed poise after the large run, with Brady DiPietro nailing down a response three pointer to reclaim the lead 46-45! Fitch was loaded with a counter response though, as Freshman Allex Hill muscled home a bucket to give The Falcons the lead back late in the fourth at 47-46! Turnovers continued to plague Boardman, allowing Austintown to get extra possessions and forcing Boardman to send their adversary to the line in the expiring minute of the fourth. Fitch would make enough free throws down the stretch, claiming the win 50-47 for the first time in over five years against Boardman!
Boardman (4-6)(0-1) will look to get back on track in the conference, facing another set of birds, this time hosting Canfield (7-3)(0-0) on Tuesday, January 10th. Also on Tuesday, Fitch (7-3)(2-0) will head to Warren Harding (6-4)(1-0) in their first matchup with The Raiders of the season. Interviews with winning Head Coach Brian Beany and Player of The Game Gianni Maley can be found below!
Youngstown Ursuline improved to 8-1 with a 80-65 victory Friday evening with a win over Youngstown Chaney (4-5) in the West side.
IRISH ROLLING
The Irish’s eight victories this season have come by an average margin of 24 points with wins by as many as 35 and twice 32. The dominance of the Green and Gold shows no signs of slowing down as they head into a difficult stretch of their schedule. After another SVC matchup in East this coming Tuesday, the Irish host the holy war against Mooney before seeing the Austintown-Fitch Falcons come to town. Ursuline will then make the trip to Louisville to take on St. Thomas Aquinas, followed by a two-game home stand against Massillon Washington and again the Chaney Cowboys.
In their win last night, the Irish took an early lead and would never look back. While the Cowboys would go on a few big runs, cutting the margin to just two possessions a few times, the Irish were able to respond every time.
Jaden Payne paced the Irish with 24 and DashaunWill added 18. Terrance Pankey had 17 with a chunk of the late third and early fourth quartersspent on the bench with four fouls.
A DIFFERENT WEST SIDE STORY
Dropping their first game to the Irish since the return of athletics in 2018, the Cowboys have now lost back-to-back games the second time this season.
The road doesn’t get much easier for the Cowboyseither. Chaney will hit the road for a pair of Steel Valley matchups at Mooney and East before a very difficult home stand against the likes of Kennedy Catholic, North Canton Hoover, Grand River Academy, and South Range. Another round of Steel Valley play looms large along with non-conference bouts against the always talented Mentor and Poland programs.
Jason Hewlett led the Cowboys in their loss with 22 points, 16 of which came in the first half. Josiah Gonzalez was the second highest scorer with 20, leading the team with his second half 13. D’Juan Waller added 11, all coming in half number one.
CONNEAUT, OHIO- The Badger Braves traveled to Conneaut to take on the Spartans. Badger struggled in the first quarter to get things into rhythm as they led the Spartans 13-12. The Braves then went on a huge offensive run, scoring 29 points in the 2nd quarter to take a 42-17 lead at the half.
The 2nd half continued to go the Braves way as Duncan Moy dropped 25 points, along with 3 three pointers. The Braves were also led by Brad Hamilton, who also had 3 three pointers on his way to 20 points and freshmen sensation, Preston Geracitano, who added 18 points.
The Braves offense was just too much for the Spartans to handle as they fell to the Braves by a final score of 74-29. The 10-0 Braves will return to play on Tuesday at home against the Pymatuning Valley Lakers.
BERLIN CENTER OH- It’s always a fun time when Western Reserve and McDonald match up with each other in the battle of the Blue Devils. Both teams came in to Friday nights game hoping a win would turn them in the right direction. They both fought like their year was on the line as well. Im a night that saw both teams trade runs that were greater than ten points, Western Reserve pulled last and hung on 42-38.
Western Reserve was led by Hayden Fellows who scored 11 points including a pair of free throws that iced the game for the Blue Devils with 3 seconds left on the clock. Luke Henning was also in double figures for Western Reserve with 10 points. Joe Serensky contributed 7 points to the cause.
McDonald was led by Greg Costantino who finished with a game-high 13 points. Wyatt Wolford gave everything he had down the stretch and pulled McDonald back in the game. He finished in double figures with 11 points.
Western Reserve stays home on Tuesday as they host bitter rival Jackson Milton. McDonald will try to bounce back on Tuesday as they stay on the road at Sebring.
https://ysnlive.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/46E54EDF-E3E0-4E1B-972B-801C812EAF68.jpeg6311010Anthony Hartwighttps://ysnlive.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Default-Email-Signature-2673571-300x70.pngAnthony Hartwig2023-01-07 04:26:142023-01-07 04:26:14WESTERN RESERVE WINS A TUG OF WAR
ATWATER OH- On the Tuesday following The New Years, The Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference (MVAC) had conference contests in both The Scarlet and Gray Divisions. One of those respective games would be held in Fred Brookover Gymnasium in Atwater, Ohio. Where The Waterloo Vikings played host to The Jackson-Milton Blue Jays where both teams were 2-1 in The Scarlet Division entering Tuesday night.
The Blue Jays came in looking to stop a two game skid while The Vikings had momentum, riding a four game winning streak into the conference bout. However, Jackson-Milton cared little about momentum, grabbing control from the opening tip, grabbing a lead with an 11-5 opening run against Waterloo. Aiden Stanke was lighting up the court with shots from distance in the opening frame, leading The Jays to a 16-11 lead after a quarter.
The Vikings showed poise and confidence despite the deficit, a highlight Coach Jason Wise has seen a noticeable improvement in. As Waterloo was able to battle their way back into the ball game in the following frame, using offensive rebounds to give The Vikings additional looks from the field. Flipping the script on Jackson-Milton, Waterloo outscored The Blue Jays 17-11 in the second quarter to take a 28-27 halftime lead.
Keeping the momentum they gained in the previous half, The Vikings were as hot as a blowtorch to start the third quarter. Scoring furiously on a 9-0 run, Waterloo grabbed the first double digit lead for either team in the game. Anthony Podojil was scoring off some fantastic passing from Ryan Wise, while Podojil also hit a big three pointer that secured the ten point advantage for The Vikes. But The Blue Jays would not be pushed away that easily, with both Aaron and Ryan Romigh scoring from all areas of the court, slimming their deficit to Waterloo to three before the final eight minutes of play.
Looking to put the game away, The Vikings were trying to swing the momentum back in their favor, while The Jays were trying to fly away with the game in the fourth. The Romigh’s continued to find buckets in the fourth, threatening the Waterloo lead several times. But it was the play of Navarre Alhassan, who was The Player of the Game, scoring at will in the final quarter, including two deadeye three pointers as he finished with 26 points to lead The Vikings to the 58-50 victory over Jackson-Milton!
The win for Waterloo (7-2)(3-1) will keep them within one game of Lowellville in their conference. However, their next game will take them out of conference, as The Vikings host Crestwood (4-5) on Thursday, January 5th. Following the loss for Jackson-Milton (4-6)(2-2), The Blue Jays will now turn their attention to another conference rival, The Springfield Tigers (4-5)(3-1) where they will head to New Middletown on Friday, January 6th.
Scoring (Waterloo)
Navarre Alhassan: 26 PTS. (Player of The Game)
Anthony Podojil: 13 PTS.
Ryan Wise: 9 PTS.
Jackson Eichler: 6 PTS.
Drew Flarida: 4 PTS.
Scoring (Jackson-Milton)
Aiden Stanke: 20 PTS.
Aaron Romigh: 15 PTS.
Ryan Romigh: 13 PTS.
Zeke Brock: 2 PTS.
Scoring by Quarter
Q1: Waterloo 11 – 16 J.M.
Q2: Waterloo 17 – 11 J.M.
Q3: Waterloo 11 – 9 J.M.
Q4: Waterloo 19 – 14 J.M.
Final: Waterloo 58 – 50 J.M.
*Contributed By YSN’s Ty Bartell
https://ysnlive.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/BB0DEE79-2E8D-4586-91FF-8B2424606EAC.jpeg11912047Anthony Hartwighttps://ysnlive.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Default-Email-Signature-2673571-300x70.pngAnthony Hartwig2023-01-05 06:13:492023-01-05 06:13:49WATERLOO TAKES BLUE JAYS BEST PUNCH
YOUNGSTOWN, OH- The Ursuline Fighting Irish kicked off their 2023 with a great matchup as they hosted the Warren G. Harding Raiders Tuesday night. Whenever these two schools face off, you just know you’re going to get a good show. The two did not disappoint early on as it seemed that we were looking at a tight game that would stay that way after the first quarter. But Ursuline’s defense found another level in the second quarter and carried that momentum onto the offensive play throughout the game. Forcing turnovers, grabbing rebounds, and multiple double-digit scorers is what kick-started the runway for the Irish going into the half. A fight back by the Raiders in the third had the game looking a little different, but once again, the Ursuline rebounding and scoring kept the Irish ahead and allowed them to come away with another home win over Harding, 69-41.
Although the Irish led 14-9 after the first quarter, it wasn’t until the second quarter where we saw that swarming defense and hot shooting. A quick three by DeShaun Will started the second quarter off and that created momentum for the Irish who ended up going on a huge run before the half to extend their lead. With the momentum heavily in the Irish’s hands heading back into the second half, Harding had to find a way back. The Raiders found a way to get some points back in the third and looked like they could use the fourth to complete a comeback. But Terrance Pankey, DeShaun Will, and Jayden Payne all had a different plan in the fourth. With the Irish finding a way to get back to their swarming defense, that opened the game back up to allow those three stars to showcase and close out the game.
For Ursuline, Pankey led the way with 24 points on the night. DeShaun Will ended the night with 16 points. Payne contributed 13 points for the Irish.
For Harding, Khamari Adams led the way with 10 points on the night. Jacob Lawerance added 8 for the Raiders.
Ursuline will move to 7-1 on the season. They will be back in action on Friday as they will travel to Chaney to take on the 4-4 Cowboys. Stay tuned on YSNLive.com or on socials for any updates regarding Ursuline and all basketball coverage!
*Contributed By YSN’s Brendan Miller
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GIRARD OH- Salem is no stranger to coming away with big wins. On Tuesday night the Quakers went on the road and beat one of the hottest basketball teams our area has to offer. The Quakers held down Girard and pulled off the massive win 54-50. The third quarter was key, as the Quakers came out of halftime and outscored Girard 16-11. That was just enough to hold back the Indian’s 21 point final frame.
Camden Sampson led the way for Salem grabbing 15 points including three big shots from behind the arc. Caden Swiger was also in double figures on the night scoring 14 points. Ross Davidson contributed 6 points.
Michael Palmer had a huge night for Girard finishing with 16 points. He gathered a double double with 13 rebounds. Gus Johnson, and Thomas Cardiero were both in double figures as well with 12 points a piece.
Salem will return to league play on Friday as they travel to Minerva. Girard also returns to conference play Friday night as they stay home to host Jefferson.
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