Sheffield equaled its victory total from all of last year on Wednesday with an exciting 55-54 win over Port Allegany at Sheffield High School.
More so, "Our 23 turnovers tells the story of the game," said Sheffield coach Todd Fitch. "We came out slow, lethargic, and had no desire early on in the game. At the end of the game, we lost our composure, we were not under control.
"The only positive is, when they got the momentum, we dug in, and had smart game management at the very end of the game," added Fitch. "But a win's a win."
Article Photos
Times Observer photo by Tyson Himes
No fouls
Sheffield’s Ike Nearing (3) defends Port Allegany’s Charlie Buchanan during a 55-54 District 9 win on Wednesday at Sheffield High School. The Wolverines are 8-3, which equals their win total from all of last season.
That's 8-3 overall so far for Sheffield, which got a 21-point effort from Ike Nearing.
Sheffield definitely came out slow in the opening quarter, fouling Gators repeatedly and turning the ball over. They had five fouls in the first quarter. The Wolverines played well, defensively, however, to overcome that, only giving up 10 points in the 11-10 stanza.
In the second quarter, Sheffield came out much stronger. The Wolverines got some steals and moved the ball well offensively to open up the lead. They had a double-digit lead midway through the quarter, but Port hit a few 3's to keep the game close. At halftime the score stood at 28-19 Sheffield.
Things changed in the third period.
The Gators turned Sheffield over and got some tough buckets to make the game close. With 4:10 left in the third, the score was narrowed to 33-30. With Port on its heels, Sheffield's Ike Nearing stepped up and made some big shots to keep Sheffield ahead. He hit a layup with five seconds left in the quarter to give the Wolverines a 45-39 advantage heading into the final period.
The last quarter was hard-fought, with neither team yielding too many easy buckets.
With 1:33 left, Port Allegany stole the ball and got to the foul line. Gators hit three of four foul shots within several seconds, and then a steal and a layup to go up by one.
On the next possession, Sheffield was patient and got a wide-open look underneath for a George Fitch layup, giving the Wolverines the 55-54 advantage with under a minute to go in the game.
Port Allegany turned the ball over on its next possession and fouled Sheffield, sending Josh Anderson to the line for a 1-and-1 opportunity. He missed the front end and the Gators got the rebound. Port's Matt Bodamer drove the ball down the lane, but Sheffield's Mark Sprandle came up with a huge steal with seconds left. He advanced the ball downcourt and time ran out, giving Sheffield the 55-54 victory.
Nearing had a huge game - with eight field goals, including two 3-pointers, and a game-high 21 points. Fitch added 11 points, and Sprandle and Nick Bonavita six each.
PORT ALLEGANY (54): Bodamer 6 4-6 17, Burr 3 3-5 9, Shively 8 1-4 18, Bova 4 1-2 9, Stuckey 0 1-2 1. Totals 24 10-19 54
SHEFFIELD (55): Ike Nearing 8 3-4 21, Mark Sprandle 2 0-0 6, Nick Bonavita 3 0-0 6, Josh Anderson 2 0-0 4, George Fitch 5 1-2 11, Kalil Slaughter 1 0-0 2, Brendan Winslow 2 0-0 5, Dylan McNeal 0 0-0 0, Tyler Fitzgerald 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 4-6 55
Port Allegany10 9 20 15 -54
Sheffield 11 17 16 11 -55
3-pointers: P-Bodamer 1, Shively 1;S-Ike Nearing 2, Mark Sprandle 2, Brendan Winslow 1.
Junior varsity game
PORT ALLEGANY (23): Stockey 6 2-2 14, Burr 0 2-3 2, Moses 1 1-1 3, Lashway 1 0-0 3. Totals 8 5-6 23
SHEFFIELD (43): Nic Confer 2 0-0 5, Luke McCracken 1 1-1 4, Brendan Winslow 1 1-1 3, Noah Heeter 4 1-2 9, Dylan McNeal 6 3-4 15, Brandon Kipp 0 3-4 3, Travis Peterson 2 0-0 4, Tyler Fitzgerald 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 9-12 43
PORT Allegany 2 4 3 13 -23
Sheffield 16 12 12 2 43 -43
3-pointers. P-Lashway 1; S-Confer 1, McCracken 1.