Perfect.
Warren ran its Warren County Tip-off Tournament record to 14-0 and claimed its seventh consecutive championship with a 78-44 victory over Sheffield Saturday at Warren Area High School.
"I was very happy (with the team's performance)," said Warren coach Jeff Berdine. "I thought we came out with a lot of energy which is going to be a key for us (this season)."
Article Photos
Times Observer photo by Brian Hagberg
In a jam
Sheffield’s George Fitch shoots over Warren defenders Nathan Billman and Drew Lobdell (30) during the boys championship game of the Warren County Tip-off Tournament Saturday at Warren Area High School.
Energy was indeed the key in this game as the Dragons capitalized on some turnovers to go on an 8-2 run to start the game and put the Wolverines in a 27-8 hole after the first quarter.
Sheffield kept pace with Warren in the second quarter, only being outscored 18-17, but couldn't overcome the first quarter deficit as they trailed by 20, 45-25, at the half.
"I wasn't pleased in the first half defensively," Berdine said. "Pretty much everything (Sheffield) got in the first half came on second chance points and that can come back to haunt you."
Fact Box
SHEFFIELD (44): Kalil Slaughter 3 2-4 8, Tyler Fizgerald 3 1-2 7, Dylan McNeal 1 3-4 6, Mark Sprandle 2 0-0 5, Ike Nearing 2 0-0 5, George Fitch 2 1-4 5, Nick Bonavita 1 2-2 4, Josh Anderson 1 0-0 2, Brandon Kipp 0 1-2 1, Dylan Reynolds 0 1-2 1, Brendan Winslow 0 0-1 0, Chris Pedersen 0 0-0 0, Totals: 15 11-21 44
WARREN (78): Preston McMeans 6 3-6 15, Tyler Fantasky 4 2-2 10, Hank Morrison 4 2-2 10, Kory Thomas 3 1-2 9, Mark Davis 4 0-2 9, Austin Jerman 3 2-2 8, Joel Stewart 2 2-3 6, Drew Lobdell 1 1-3 3, Andrew Morrison 1 3-6 5, Dan Maeder 0 2-2 2, Kyle Papalia 0 1-2 1, Nathan Billman 0 0-1 0, Jordan Baker 0 0-0 0, Cody McGraw 0 0-0 0, Grayson Foley 0 0-0 0, Totals: 28 19-33 78
Sheffield 8 17 10 9 - 44
Warren 27 18 20 13 - 78
3-pointers: S-Sprandle, McNeal, Nearing; W- Thomas 2, Davis
YOUNGSVILLE (43): Nathan Smith 5 4-5 14, Broc Horn 3 4-5 10, Jeremy Clark 3 0-1 6, D.J. Rose 1 2-4 5, Billy Chuzie 2 0-2 4, Tim Snavley 1 0-0 2, Caleb Linkerhof 1 0-2 2, Totals: 16 10-19 43
EISENHOWER (60): Ryan Williams 5 5-7 15, Aaron Lundmark 5 0-2 12, Josh Deppas 3 1-1 7, Tre Frank 2 2-2 7, Paul Sherer 3 1-2 7, Colin Shine 1 4-8 6, Andrew Onoratti 2 0-0 4, Nathan O'Brien 1 0-0 2, Totals: 22 13-22 60
Youngsville 11 11 12 9 - 43
Eisenhower 12 17 15 16 - 60
3-pointers: Y-Rose; E- Lundmark 2, Frank
TCCS (22): Ben Craft 1 2-4 4, Kendrick Morrison 1 1-3 3, Shaun Sitterley 0 4-13 4, Matt Brown 3 2-6 10, Calvin Marsh 0 1-2 1, Cody Mohrey 0 0-0 0, Cody Masters 0 0-0 0, Totals: 5 10-28 22
WEST FOREST (53): Mendez 1 9-15 11, Weaver 1 1-2 4, Silvis 8 1-2 17, Hillard 2 1-2 5, Sneeringer 1 4-6 6, Marshall 0 1-1 1, Hale 1 0-0 3, Thomas 1 0-0 2, Blum 2 0-0 4, Totals: 17 17-28 53
TCCS 6 9 3 4 - 22
West Forest 8 17 8 20 - 53
3-pointers: T-Brown; W-Weaver, Hale
Berdine added that he thought the Dragons had some chances to really blow the game open in the first half, but poor rebounding allowed the Wolverines to hang around.
"One of the things we're trying to work on is to be better on the ball defenders," Berdine said.
Preston McMeans led a trio of double digit scorers for the Dragons with 15 points. Both Hank Morrison and Tyler Fantasky had 10 points and Mark Davis and Kory Thomas each had nine points.
Austin Jerman added eight points and Joel Stewart chipped in with six points for the Dragons.
The Wolverines were led by Kalil Slaughter's eight points while Tyler Fitzgerald had seven points and Dylan McNeal had six points. Ike Nearing, George Fitch and Mark Sprandle each added five points for Sheffield.
Berdine said that this tournament has given the Dragons a good idea of where they need to refocus their efforts in practice as they head into regular season play.
"We're going to work on some individual situations and defensively getting contested jump shots," Berdine said. "Our rebounding is going to be the key for us though. We've got to make sure we take care of those second chance points."
Sheffield (1-1) is back in action Monday as they host West Forest. Warren (2-0) welcomes Mercyhurst Prep on Tuesday.
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Consolation Game
Eisenhower 60, Youngsville 43
Eisenhower salvaged a weekend split at the Warren County Tip-off Tournament, sending county rival Youngsville to its second straight loss in a 60-43 decision in the consolation game Saturday at Warren Area High School.
The game was much closer than recent meetings between the schools and the Knights held a one-point advantage after the first quarter before stretching the edge to seven points at the break.
In the end, the Knights had just a little too much height as Eisenhower put together a solid second half effort to quell any chance of a Youngsville comeback.
Coach Steve Norris' Knights ended the game with a pair of players in double figures. Ryan Williams paced the victory with 15 points and Aaron Lundmark chipped in 12. Josh Deppas, Tre Frank and Paul Sherer helped key the balanced effort and all ended with seven markers.
After a tough outing against Warren on Friday, Youngsville's stars came to play Saturday. Despite the loss, the Eagles got 14 points from Nathan Smith and 10 points from sophomore Broc Horn.
Eisenhower (1-1) is off until Wednesday when it will host Titusville. Youngsville (0-2) is back in action Tuesday at Venango Catholic.
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East Forest Tournament
Consolation Game
West Forest 53, Tidioute Charter 22
MARIENVILLE - It didn't take long for Tidioute coach Dave Manning to see where his team needs to improve.
The Bulldogs finished just 10-of-28 at the line and missed what Manning called some "easy looks" in a 53-22 loss to West Forest in the consolation game of the East Forest Tournament on Saturday.
The inexperienced Bulldogs are rebuilding this year and struggled in their first two outings of the season. One bright spot in the tournament was guard Matt Brown. After torching East Forest for 25 points on Friday, Brown finished with 10 points on Saturday.
Shaun Sitterley and Ben Craft were Tidioute's other key offensive producers. Both finished with four points in the loss.
It won't take long for Manning to see if his team can improve. The Bulldogs (0-2) are back on the floor Friday when they visit those same Indians.