Tag Archive for: High school basketball

SPRINGFIELD BATTLES TO VICTORY

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BERLIN CENTER, Ohio –

Conner Hudran and Seandelle Gardner combined for forty points in Springfield’s 66-53 road victory over Western Reserve.

The two conference foes trailed blows in a first quarter highlighted by eight made three pointers between the two teams. Seandelle Gardner for Springfield led the team for the quarter with two as did Western Reserve’s Dominic Ricciardi.

Scoring would slow for both teams in the second quarter, as the two sides combined for just 20 points. Western Reserve’s Joey Serensky led quarter with six.

Trailing coming out of the break by seven, Western Reserve was only able to trim the gap by one heading into the final stanza. Explosive fourth quarter performances from Springfield’s Connor Hudran and Seandelle Gardner put the game on ice, both scoring eight points apiece, giving the Tigers the win, 66–53.

LEADING SCORERS –

WESTERN RESERVE:

Joey Serensky – 15 points

Hayden Fellows – 11 points

Luke Henning – 11 points

Luke Ramsey – 10 points

SPRINGFIELD:

Conner Hudran – 21 points, 9/9 FT

Seandelle Gardner – 19 points

Western Reserve – After having their three-gamewinning streak snapped, the Blue Devils will be back in MVAC conference action this Friday, January 6th against the McDonald Blue Devils (3-7).

Springfield – Following their three-game road trip, the Springfield Tigers will return home to take on the Jackson-Milton Blue Jays (4-6), this Friday, January 6th. Milton comes into the game on a three-game losing skid.

*Contributed By YSN’s Jamie Thomson

 

EAST HOLDS STRONG ON THEIR HOME FLOOR

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Youngstown OH- The West Branch boys basketball team traveled to Youngstown to take on the East Golden Bears last night hoping to gather a road victory. That, unfortunately, did not happen as East walked away with a very impressive 43-32 victory. East has been having quite the season after winning just  1 game in last year’s season.

 

That East defense was big all night. They held the Warriors to just seven first-quarter points and 14 points at the half. The Warrior offense just couldn’t get a quality look the entire night as East made them work for just about every shot. Jeremiah Thomas led West Branch with 9 points and Jaxon Robb contributed 7.

 

East only scored 43 points but that offense made some big shots. Isaiah McCray was the high scorer with 17 points. Tyrone Hudson and Jose Castro each contributed 7 points respectively. Castro was solid defensively as he came up with several steals. Talking to coach Whipple after the game, he said the biggest turnaround for this East program was “changing the culture starting in the classroom.” He said that being disciplined in the classroom helps you become more focused and prepared for when it comes to playing basketball. 

 

With the win, East improves to 6-4 on the season. They will look to gather another win when they travel to Mooney on Friday at 7 P.M. West Branch drops to 4-4 with the loss and will look to bounce back against Carrollton on Friday.

 

*Contributed By YSN’s Michael Ginocchi

 

GARFIELD KNOWS HOW TO GET IT DONE

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CHAMPION, OH- The Garrettsville Garfield G-Men traveled to Champion tonight to take on the Golden Flashes. It was a strong first half by both teams as it was just a 25-24 Champion lead at the half. Preston Gedeon and the G-Men pulled away in the second half making major adjustments on the defensive side which produced a lot of steals and quick scores in transition. Joey Fell and the Golden Flashes attempted a comeback but fell short tonight to the G-Men 63-40.

The 0-10 Flashes will try and pickup their first win of the season on the road against  Campbell this friday. Garfield will go for their fourth win on the season when they travel to Liberty on friday to take on the Leopards.

*Contributed By YSN’s Matt Morrison

FALCONS STAY STREAKING

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CLEVELAND OH- In the second game of the girls and boys doubleheader, the home of The Cavs, Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse was the venue for an All-American Conference (AAC) matchup! Coach Bubon and The Howland Tigers played home team to their conference foe in The Austintown Fitch Falcons, led by Coach Beany. Howland came in the Monday afternoon contest sporting a 6-2 record, while Fitch came in 5-3. However, it would be the first conference game for either school on the boys side this season and the first AAC conference game on the boys side overall! 

The Tigers, winners of two straight versus Hubbard and Brookfield, came in with a ton of confidence. Showcasing their great passing ability this season, Howland has demonstrated unselfish basketball that often leads to open looks and, ultimately, wins this year. The Falcons were also riding with momentum, emerging victorious at The Hudson Holiday Tournament where they matched up with a powerhouse in Walsh Jesuit. Going to overtime with The Warriors, Fitch would grab the monstrous victory before The New Year. 

Austintown was not messing around, going on a 9-2 run and capturing an early advantage on Howland. Buckets coming from a multitude of ways, Fitch was finding offense from multiple sources. The Tigers found a sharpshooter from Alex Henry, who often starts the passing engine that is The Tiger offense. But on the big stage, Henry found some buckets that battled Howland back, trimming the deficit to just a single point, 13-14 against Fitch. The Falcons would build on their lead before the half, holding the advantage 20-13 at the halftime break. 

Out of the half, Fitch would go on an 11-0 run to start the third quarter to immediately take momentum by force. The Tigers were creating the looks needed to contend, but the third quarter was not friendly to Howland, with multiple shots rimming out. Fitch would expand on the shooting woes of their adversaries, capping the quarter off with an NBA distance three pointer from Gianni Maley, that gave Fitch a 38-18 lead heading into the final eight minutes. In the final quarter, The Falcons flew with the gust of momentum and rode it all the way to victory. After going 0-2 against The Tigers a season ago, Fitch was able to emerge victorious by the final score of 50-29. 

After the loss, Howland(6-3)(0-1) will look to redirect their attention, hosting cross-town rival The Warren Harding Raiders(4-3)(0-0) on Friday, January 6th. After the early conference win, Fitch (6-3)(1-0) will also stay in the AAC, as they will host their big rival in The Boardman Spartans(4-5)(0-0) on Friday as well!

*Contributed By YSN’s Ty Bartell

BEAVERS STARTING TO GAIN MOMENTUM

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EAST LIVERPOOL OH- Basketball is a game where it takes a collective group to come together as a team to achieve success.  The team atmosphere was on full display at the Beaver Dome Friday night as Beaver Local defeated St Clairsville 72-67.

The Red Devils wasted little time racing out to a 9-1 advantage behind a hounding full court defense. The Beavers would settle down and go on a 9-2 run behind 5  points from Austin Cline to cut the deficit to 11-10 at the end of the 1st quarter. Beaver Local, without the services of Evan Stephenson (illness) combined with early foul trouble, would need others to step up on the offensive end if they were to keep up with the Red Devils scoring ability. Two players at different ends of their careers would answer the call in Senior Owen Bzinak and Freshman Owen HIll. The pair would combine for 13 of the Beavers 26 points in the quarter giving the red & white a 36-30 halftime lead.

Coach Nick Miller on the senior Bzinak’s performance “We have challenged him to be more of a leader, tonight was a great showing of his ability to lead by example on the floor.” Halftime would not slow Hill’s output down as the Freshman came through scoring 8 in the frame, guiding his team to a 52-47 lead through 3 quarters. The Red Devils would come alive early in the 4th behind a quick 6 points closing the gap to 54-53.

The Beavers would not panic, seemingly trading baskets with the Red Devils neither team able to separate themselves. St Clairsville would finally take back the lead with about 2 minutes to go. Trailing 63-61 with 1:00 on the clock Owen HIll would square up from the corner hitting his 4th shot from downtown on the evening giving the Beavers a 64-63 lead on their way to victory. Hill would finish the night with 17 points and 7 rebounds not to his head coach’s surprise

“We saw glimpses of that this summer, he was able to put it all together tonight in big situations.” Hill’s partner in crime Owen Bzinak (14 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists) would continue to be relentless in the closing minutes helping close out the Devils.  Austin Cline, (16 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists)  would seal the deal going 4 for 4 from the line down the stretch giving the Beavers their 3rd win in their last 4 opportunities. Michael McKenzie contributed to the balanced attack scoring 8 points as well for the victors.

Miller on his team’s outlook ” I really like how we have come together over the last week and a half. We have some tough opponents ahead, the sky’s the limit if we keep playing together.”

Beaver Local (4-4) looks to stay hot as they travel to rival Wellsville on Tuesday.

*Contributed By YSN’s Chris Sigler

THE BALL DROPS FOR HOWLAND

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HOWLAND CENTER, OH – In their final game of 2022, the Howland Tigers did what they had to do. Second-half adjustments by coach Dan Bubon was what the Tigers needed to pull out a 48-34 victory over visiting Brookfield to close out the calendar year. 

 

It was a very low-scoring first quarter as the Tigers only led 6-4 after one. Both teams were exchanging leads back and forth throughout a good portion of the first half as the Warriors took a 13-12 lead in the second, thanks to strong shooting from Donovan Pawlowski, who led all scorers with 15. The Tigers, however, put on the heat to end the half as they led a 10-2 run to go into the break up 22-15. 

 

The strong defensive effort by Howland went full throttle in the second half as they adjusted to the phenomenal low-post play of Brookfield senior Isaiah Jones. Jones was able to block shots on defense, but the Howland defense shut him down in the scoring realm, holding him to only 6 points on the night. Despite the offensive struggles, the Tigers would build up a twenty-point lead in the fourth with strong shooting from senior Ben Bronson, Alex Henry, and Brandon Null. Null and Henry led the Tigers with 12 while Bronson had 10.

 

Howland (6-2) will now get a fun experience on Monday when they travel up to Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse to take on Austintown Fitch to start AAC play in their first game of 2023. They will be playing on the Cavaliers’ home floor at 3:00 P.M. in a game that will follow the girls’ matchup between Howland and Fitch that starts at 1:30. Brookfield (5-3) will travel to Crestview on Tuesday in their third game of a four-game roadstand. This will be an MVAC matchup with tip-off following JV around 7:00 P.M. 

 

Howland coach Dan Bubon talked to Noah Ricks about his team’s victory. You can watch the full interview.

*Contributed By YSN’s Noah Ricks

BADGER PASSES BIG MID SEASON TEST

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KINSMAN, OHIO- The St. Thomas Aquinas Knights traveled to farm town, USA to take on the Badger Braves. The Braves got off to a hot start and led 26-16 at the half. The knights made a huge comeback and it was all back and forth from that point on.

Freshman Lewis Flowers made some key rebounds that saved possessions for the Braves. The scoring by the braves was led by Duncan Moy, with 25, and as well as Cole Burnett, with 16. Brad Hamilton added on 12 more points as well as making the key free throws that put the Braves in front for good. The Braves snuck away with the 62-56.

The Braves improve to 9-0 and will be back in action on against Conneaut next Friday.

*Contributed By YSN’s Matt Morrison

BROOKFIELD PICKS UP NON CONFERENCE WIN ON THE ROAD

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CORTLAND, OH- As we creep closer to the end of the year, and teams getting ready to hit second gear before playoffs, a tough matchup took place between Brookfield and Maplewood as the Warriors traveled to Maplewood Tuesday night. Brookfield came into the matchup looking to keep their good season going into the New Year and trying to make a push to the top of the MVAC. The Warriors got a great start over the Rockets that led to a 31-25 lead at the half for Brookfield. In the second half, Maplewood grabbed some momentum to keep them close going into the fourth, but Brookfield stacked more points late to take the victory, 65-55 over Maplewood.

Brookfield’s all around team play allowed them to keep their lead throughout the game. Led by a Matteo Fortuna double-double, the Warriors’ scoring was lights out and with two other scorers getting to double digits was also a big factor in the win. The Rockets were unable to control any aspect of the game as Brookfield played tight defense and controlled the boards down the stretch to keep Maplewood from cutting the lead down. A 19 point fourth period ultimately put the game away and secured the victory for Brookfield.   

For the Warriors, Fortuna led the way with 19 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists. Donovan Pawlowski added 13 points and 5 steals. Isaiah Jones finished with 14 points on the night. 

Brookfield will move to 5-2 overall and stay at 1-1 in the MVAC heading into their next game. Stay tuned on YSNLive.com or on socials for any updates regarding Brookfield and all basketball coverage!

*Contributed By YSN’s Brendan Miller.

RED DRAGONS KEEP THE HAMMER DOWN

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NILES OH- After a Holly Jolly Christmas, the Niles McKinley Red Dragons were back in action, looking for a bounce back win after falling to rival Poland right before the break.  In order to do this, they’d have to face a Mineral Ridge Rams team that was hungry for their first win of the season.  In the end, it was Niles who pulled away late and never looked back, winning 74 to 58.  

 

For Niles, they had a few double digit scorers on the night.  Leading them was Sam Perrone with 16 points.  Anthony Budak got the starting position and played well with good assists and getting 15 points.  Keyshon Talley scored 13 points, and both Matt Kodak and Robert Strickland scored a combined 24 points.  Nate Coots would score a layup late and a point too for Yaunsene Blackman.  

 

On the Mineral Ridge side of the ball, it was Jordan Moore with scored 13 points, combined 22 points from Trey Rigley and Ian Erb.  10 points from Jon Rozzi, six points for Nate Rohrman, a combined six from Julian Rozzi and Elias Clarke and a free throw from Triston Valley.  

 

Mineral Ride (0-8) will travel to Sebring next while Niles (5-3) will travel to Campbell to play the memorial Red Devils on Thursday. 

 

After the game, Ian O’Brien caught up with coach Doug Foster and player of the game Anthony Budak.  

 

*contributed by YSNs Ian O’Brien*

 

CARDIERO’S 1000 HIGHLIGHTS GIRARD’S VICTORY

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GIRARD OH-  It was a big night in Girard for one of their standouts Thomas Cardiero.  He came in to the game needed 7 points to reach a career milestone of 1000.  It might have been a slow night by his standards, but 7 points was exactly what he finished with to reach that goal of 1k.  More important than that his teammates came together to grab their seventh win of the season beating McDonald 48-32.

The offense was led by Gus Johnson who put together another strong night with 20 points.  Bobby Alejars also got himself in to double figures by collecting 11 points.  Jordan Johnson also contributed 7 points.

McDonald was paced by Greg Costantino who impressed with 15 points.  Joey Cappuzzello also threw in 7 points to the Blue Devils cause.

Girard will be off until the new year as they await a matchup at home against Salem on January 3rd.  McDonald is back at it on Thursday as they travel Heartland Christian to play Columbiana.