WINTERSVILLE - The Indian Creek boys basketball team raised its record to 14-4 with a 46-42 victory Friday over visiting Martins Ferry.
"Two teams played shorthanded tonight and it came down to they made the critical plays when they needed to and we did not," said Purple Riders coach Jeff Sabatino.
It was a rough start for both squads with the hosts slowly moving out to a 6-0 lead until the Purple Riders first goal at the 3:35 mark in the quarter. Martins Ferry would trail by just one point at the first buzzer as Indian Creek's offense evaporated.
The Redskins would continue to struggle as Martins Ferry muscled their way through the paint as Cody Schau netted eight points for a 15-11 advantage. Indian Creek's Matt Furda had an opportunity to erase that gap as he was fouled on a three-point bucket right before the half. Furda missed the bonus opportunity but Sabatino marked the play as a momentum shift.
"I thought the play right before the half was one of the game changers," he said.
The third quarter was a draw with both squads netting a dozen points. Indian Creek would trade blows with the Purple Riders but would not retake the lead until the five minute mark in the final frame.
"At that point, to me, it looked like whoever had the ball last was going to win," said Dunlevy of the scrap.
Indian Creek would have the bonus light to their advantage in the final minutes and once again it was Furda coming up big in the clutch. Netting both pairs of his one-and-one and the first of his third bonus trip to the foul line he combined with eight points from Dylan Hibbits and a trey by Blake Roar to hold off the Purple Riders.
Schau paced the Purple Riders with a game-high 18 points with eight boards. Robert Vargo had 10 points all coming in the second half.
Furda finished with 16 to lead Indian Creek. Hibbits netted 15 points in the second half for the Redskins.
Indian Creek improves to 14-4 and will host Parkersburg South in the Wheeling Hospital OVAC 5A semifinals on Tuesday.
Indian Creek 46, Martins Ferry 42
Martins Ferry 5 10 12 15 - 42
Indian Creek 6 8 12 20 - 46
MARTINS FERRY (6-11): Barritt 1, 0-0 2; Shane 1, 0-0 2; Cusick 1, 0-0 2; Vargo 5, 0-0 10; Oberdick 1, 0-2 2; Schau 7, 4-6 18; Carlier 2, 1-2 6; Totals 18, 5-10 42. 3-pointers: Carlier.
INDIAN CREEK (14-4): Furda 4, 5-7 16; Roar 2, 2-2 8; Rath 0, 0-0 0; Hibbits 6, 2-3 15; Kamarec 2, 0-0 5; Winland 1, 0-2 2. Totals 15, 9-14 46. 3-pointers: Furda 3, Roar 2, Hibbitts, Kamarec.
Huskies defeat Panthers
CADIZ - The Harrison Central bouys basketball team completed its pre-OVAC tournament schedule with a strong 14-4 record after Friday's 59-40 victory over visiting Buckeye Local. The Huskies will trek to East Liverpool to compete in the 4A semifinals against the Potters Tuesday.
"We've had some wake-up calls during this season and you need that at times because during the course of four months, you start feeling good about yourself," Harrison Central coach Justin Clifford said. "Does that mean we're going to win the state championship? No, by no means, but I thought we took a step in the right direction tonight, and I am pleased with that."
Fletcher Watt led the Huskies with 13 points. Nick Pelegreen scored 10 of his 12 in the first half. Senior Garrit Sproull scored seven of his 10 in the first quarter.
The Huskies erased any doubt of a Panther rally in the third when they outscored the visitors 16-5.
The Panthers were led by 12 from Tyler Richardson and 10 from AJ Barsch.
Harrison Central 59, Buckeye Local 40
Buckeye Local 7 14 5 14 - 40
Harrison Central 16 13 16 14 - 59
BUCKEYE LOCAL (8-10): Agnew 0, 0-0 0; Czuchran 1, 3-4 5; Michalo 1, 0-0 3; Rozenek 0, 0-0 0; Malesky 1, 0-0 2; Richardson 4, 0-0 12; Isinghood 2, 0-0 5; Barsch 3, 4-6 10; Williams 0, 0-0 0; Durbin 0, 3-3 3; Duncan 0, 0-1 0; Hamilton 0, 0-0 0; Totals: 12, 10-14 40. 3-pointers: Richardson 4, Michalo, Isinghood.
HARRISON CENTRAL (14-4): Kowalski 2, 1-1 5; DiLoretto 1, 0-0 3; Watt 4, 4-6 13; Mitchell 3, 1-4 7; Pelegreen 5, 2-3 12; Cumberworth 2, 2-3 6; Sproull 4, 1-2 10; Rutter 0, 0-0 0; Miser 0, 0-0 0; Colnaghi 1, 0-0 2; K. Mitchell 0, 0-0 0; Olmstead 0, 1-2 1; Evans 0, 0-0 0; Yoho 0, 0-0 0; Totals: 22, 12-21 59. 3-pointers: DiLoretto, Watt, Sproull.
Blue Eagles drop Bears
NEW MANCHESTER - The Magnolia boys basketball team outscored host Oak Glen 36-19 in the second half Friday for a 60-36 victory. The Blue Eagles held a 24-17 lead at halftime.
Jeff Hissam scored eight for the Golden Bears. Oak Glen will participate in next week's OVAC consolation round. They'll host Bellaire on Tuesday before heading to Edison on Friday.
Magnolia 60, Oak Glen 36
Magnolia 16 8 17 19 - 60
Oak Glen 11 6 6 13 - 36
MAGNOLIA: Hannah 2 2-2 8, Bogalski 1 1-2 4, Winters 7 3-3 20, Willhoite 3 1-2 7, Keller 1 0-0 2, Campbell 1 2-2 4, Blatt 3 0-0 6, Keller 3 0-0 9, Meyers 0 0-1 0. TOTALS: 21 9-12 60. 3-pointers: Winters (3), Keller (3), Hannah (2), Bogalski.
OAK GLEN: McLaughlin 2 0-0 5, Markham 1 0-0 3, Hissam 3 1-3 8, Haddox 1 0-0 3, Crago 2 0-0 4, Kincaid 2 0-2 4, McGraw 2 2-2 6, Smith 1 0-0 3. TOTALS: 14 3-7 36. 3-pointers: McLaughlin, Markham, Hissam, Haddox, Smith.
