It was the Ryan Williams Show in the final 10 seconds of Eisenhower's boys basketball game against visiting Conneaut Lake Tuesday at Eisenhower High School.
With the score tied 44-44, Williams hit two clutch free throws with 3.3 seconds left, then stole the Conneaut Lake inbounds pass to secure the 46-44 Region 3-opening victory for Eisenhower.
"Ryan was a key factor for us tonight," said Eisenhower coach Steve Norris. "I put the onus on him and said, 'You're going to win this game for us,' and he did."
Article Photos
Photo courtesy of Wayne Repke
Hands-on
Eisenhower’s Josh Deppas, right, gets a shot off while being fouled during the Knights’ 46-44 Region 3 win over Conneaut Lake Tuesday at Eisenhower High School.
The Knights held a slim 11-9 lead after the first quarter and suddenly went cold from the floor as they couldn't get shots to fall. Conneaut Lake took advantage and grabbed a 13-12 lead. Tre Frank answered with a 3-pointer for the Knights, then both teams went cold before Conneaut Lake went on a 10-0 run to end the quarter and take a 23-15 lead into halftime.
The Knights couldn't buy a bucket in the first four minutes of the third quarter as they had multiple shots just rim out, and went 1-of-4 from the free throw line, but were able to hold Conneaut Lake defensively throughout the period and keep it an eight-point deficit going into the fourth quarter.
"The last thing I said to (the team) before halftime was, 'I don't want to see one person, if they lose the ball or miss a shot, put their head down because you need to get back on defense and turn that negative into a positive,'" Norris said.
Eisenhower went to a full-court defense to begin the fourth quarter and turned two Conneaut Lake turnovers into four quick points, cutting the lead in half within the first minute of the period. Conneaut Lake was able to come back and briefly regain the eight-point advantage before Eisenhower created more turnovers and tied the game at 38-38 with four minutes to play.
The Knights took their first lead since the second quarter just 30 seconds later. Conneaut Lake was able to answer, but Frank hit both ends of a one-and-one to give the Knights a 44-42 lead. Conneaut Lake tied the game at 44-44 with just 30 seconds left before Eisenhower called a timeout to set up the Williams play.
"This was an even team for us to play and we had to win this game," Norris said.
Frank led the Knights with 11 points. Josh Deppas added 10 points. Williams chipped in with nine points, and Aaron Lundmark had six points for Eisenhower.
The Knights are 4-8 overall and 1-0 in Region 3.
Eisenhower won the junior varsity game, 46-38. Colin Shine led all scorers with 19 points, connecting on three 3-pointers. Joe Rutsky added 10 points.
CONNEAUT LAKE (44): Tabar 7 6-7 21, Decrapio 3 0-0 8, A. Baker 3 1-2 7, Hutman 2 0-0 4, RJ Baker 1 0-1 2, Miller 1 0-0 2, Moyer 0 0-0 0, Totals 17 7-10 44
EISENHOWER (46): Tre Frank 4 2-4 11, Josh Deppas 5 0-0 10, Ryan Williams 3 3-4 9, Aaron Lundmark 2 2-2 6, Colin Shine 1 2-2 4, Nathan O'Brien 1 2-4 4, Andy Onoratti 1 0-0 2, Totals 17 11-16 46
Conneaut Lake 9 14 11 10 - 44
Eisenhower 11 4 11 20 - 46
3-pointers: C-Decrapio 2, Tabar; E-Frank
Junior varsity game
CONNEAUT LAKE (38): C. Baker 4 5-6 13, Slevin 2 3-5 8, Moore 3 0-0 6, Wiltrout 2 1-1 5, Robinson 2 0-4 4, Kesler 1 0-0 2, Totals 14 9-16 38
EISENHOWER (46): Colin Shine 8 0-0 19, Joe Rutsky 5 0-2 10, Aaron Lundmark 2 2-5 6, Austin Schwanke 2 0-0 4, Nathan O'Brien 1 2-2 4, Alex Johnson 1 0-0 2, Carter Farrell 0 1-2 1, Tre Frank 0 0-0 0, Totals 19 5-11 46
Conneaut Lake 9 11 10 18 - 38
Eisenhower 11 18 11 6 - 46
3-pointers: C-Slevin; E-Shine 3
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Warren 65, Corry 56
CORRY - Warren needed a region win, and needed players to step up late to get that win.
On Tuesday, the Dragons beat Corry, 65-56, after the Beavers tied the game with just under four minutes to play.
"We did a great job in the first half and then in the fourth quarter of really limiting their hoops," said Warren coach Jeff Berdine, whose Dragons are 9-5 overall and 2-5 in Region 7 after losing two straight.
Tied with 3:50 remaining, Warren scored on five straight possessions, starting with a Hank Morrison layup on an attempted Corry press, to make it 54-52 Warren. Tyler Fantaskey upped that lead to 56-52 and Preston McMeans answered Corry's three-point play with a bucket off a set inbounds play for a 59-55 Warren lead.
Fantaskey made that lead six before McMeans scored twice in the last minute to make the final 65-56.
Warren led by as many as 18 points in the first half and by 11 at halftime before Corry came back. Corry's Mitchell Burrows controlled the inside game before the Dragons started fronting him and limiting his opportunities.
McMeans finished with a game-high 23 points, and he added six rebounds and five assists. Hank Morrison had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Austin Jerman added five assists in the win.
Mark Davis had 19 points in a Warren J.V. win.
WARREN (65): Joel Stewart 1 0-2 2, Austin Jerman 0 2-6 2, Kyle Papalia 2 0-0 6, Mark Davis 1 0-0 2, Kory Thomas 0 0-1 0, Drew Lobdell 0 0-0 0, Hank Morrison 8 4-4 20, Tyler Fantaskey 4 0-0 8, Preston McMeans 10 3-7 23, Andrew Morrison 1 0-0 2. Totals 27 9-20 65.
CORRY (56): Cressley 3 1-2 8, Rougeau 4 0-1 10, Sheets 2 0-0 4, Haenel 2 2-2 8, Mosher 3 2-2 10, Burrows 5 6-12 16. Totals 19 11-19 56.
Warren 17 20 11 19 - 65
Corry 9 17 16 14 - 56
3-pointers: W-Papalia 2; C-Cressley, Rougeau 2, Haenel 2, Mosher 2.
Junior varsity game
WARREN (55): Kevin Barsness 0 0-0 0, Dan Maeder 0 0-0 0, Grayson Foley 3 0-0 7, Matt Sandberg 1 0-0 3, Austin Jerman 2 1-2 5, Cody McGraw 2 2-2 6, Mark Davis 8 3-4 19, Tyler Abbott 3 0-0 6, Drew Lobdell 4 1-2 9. Totals 23 7-10 55.
CORRY (27): Rougeau 2 0-0 4, McCray 0 1-2 1, Cragg 2 0-0 6, Volz 3 0-0 6, Gustafson 0 2-3 2, Kang 1 0-0 3, Gerould 1 0-0 2, Crotty 1 0-0 3. Totals 10 3-5 27.
Warren 19 12 10 14 - 55
Corry 7 10 6 4 - 27
3-pointers: W-Foley, Sandberg; C-Cragg 2, Kang, Crotty.
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Erie First 54, WCCS 31
ERIE - Warren County Christian School is 2-6 after committing 35 turnovers Tuesday at Erie First Christian.
Andrew Hammersley had 20 points, 15 rebounds and five blocks, but WCCS couldn't overcome two players, including one start, missing the game and a 14-3 first-quarter deficit.
Averaging 10 turnovers a game, WCCS coach Steve Zwald said "there's no way we could have beat anybody (with 35 turnovers)."
WCCS (31): Andrew Hammersley 7 3-7 20, Carson Moore 1 0-0 2, Ricky Zortman 2 0-0 5, Josh Wagonseller 1 0-0 2, Jamie Petrush 0 0-2 0, Tim Hungerford 1 0-4 2, Josiah Poindexter 0 0-0 0, Tyler Keller 0 0-0 0, Eric Sorenson 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 3-13 31.
ERIE FIRST (54): Swonger 7 3-3 17, Liang 1 0-0 2, Gernovich 2 0-0 4, Hanlin 5 2-7 12, Hess 4 2-4 10, Sims 3 0-1 7, Scarlett 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 7-15 54.
WCCS 3 11 10 7 - 31
Erie First 14 11 13 16 - 54
3-pointers: W-Hammersley 3, Zortman; E-Sims.
Junior varsity game
WCCS (14): Josiah Poindexter 1 0-0 2, Tyler Keller 2 0-0 4, Eric Sorenson 0 0-0 0, Josh Wagonseller 1 0-0 2, Jamie Petrush 2 2-9 6. Totals 6 2-9 14.
ERIE FIRST (39): Martin 4 1-4 9, Montetieri 1 0-0 2, An.Euliano 0 1-2 1, Pauli 1 0-0 2, Gernovich 5 0-0 10, Shi 5 1-2 11, Al.Euliano 1 0-0 2, Crossman 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 3-8 39.
WCCS 2 5 3 4 - 14
Erie First 12 8 14 15 - 39
3-pointers: None.
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Maplewood 55, Youngsville 37
Slowly but surely, the Youngsville Eagles wore down.
Maplewood took advantage of that fact and walked out of Youngsville High School with a 55-37 victory on Tuesday.
With fresh bodies running the show, the Eagles kept things close with the Tigers throughout the entire first half. Maplewood led by five after the first quarter, but Youngsville closed to within four by the end of the first half.
In the second half, Youngsville's legs began to tire and the Tigers continued to roll in fresh players off the bench. The result was a 26-12 Maplewood second half advantage that denied Youngsville any shot at the season's second victory.
Nathan Smith, forced to sit out much of the second half with four fouls, finished with a team-high 13 points in defeat. Broc Horn bucketed nine points, Billy Chuzie seven and Jeremy Clark six.
The junior varsity game was dominated by Maplewood, 44-9. Coll Dininny and Colin Lehnen each finished with three points for the Eagles.
Youngsville is 1-12.
MAPLEWOOD (55): Davis 5 7-10 19, Mewborn 3 3-6 9, Potts 4 1-3 9, Snyder 5 2-3 12, Dahl 1 2-2 5, Turner 0 1-2 1, Totals: 18 16-26 55
YOUNGSVILLE (37): Nathan Smith 5 3-7 13, Jeremy Clark 1 3-4 6, Broc Horn 4 0-0 9, Billy Chuzie 3 1-4 7, Brandon Reed 0 0-0 0, Tom Chapman 0 0-0 0, James Frazier 1 0-0 2, Coll Dininny 0 0-0 0, Totals: 14 7-15 37
Maplewood 19 10 12 14 - 55
Youngsville 14 11 7 5 - 37
3-pointers: M-Davis 2; Y-Clark, Horn
Junior varsity game
MAPLEWOOD (44): Aikens 4 0-0 10, Marriott 2 0-2 4, Lake 1 0-2 2, Bakus 1 2-10 4, Dahl 1 0-0 3, Hayes 2 2-2 6, Ra. Maloney 0 0-2 0, Garrett 3 0-0 6, Ry. Maloney 1 0-0 3, Turner 3 0-2 6, Totals: 18 4-20 44
YOUNGSVILLE (9): Jonathan Pollow 0 1-4 1, Colin Lehnen 1 1-2 3, James Frazier 0 0-0 0, A.J. Gustafson 0 0-0 0, J.R. Yost 0 0-0 0, Josh Taydus 0 0-0 0, Coll Dininny 1 1-2 3, Tom Chapman 0 0-0 0, Corey Jones 0 0-0 0, Nick Barrett 0 0-0 0, Esteban Carehio 0 0-0 0, Brandon Reed 0 1-4 1, Broc Horn 0 1-4 1, Totals: 2 5-16 9
Maplewood 8 11 13 12 - 44
Youngsville 0 3 3 3 - 9
3-pointers: M-Aikens 2, Dahl, Ry. Maloney; Y-None