EDINBORO - The pressure got to Warren's boys basketball team in the third quarter of a 60-46 Region 7 loss at General McLane on Tuesday.
The matchup was the first of three region road games this week for Warren, including two against unbeaten in region McLane and Central Tech.
Warren hung with McLane on Tuesday, trailing by two - 24-22 - at halftime. A 22-9 third quarter, which included a 16-3 run, moved McLane to a 10-0 overall start - 5-0 in Region 7. Warren falls to 8-2 and 3-1 and plays Central Tech, also 5-0 in region, on Thursday.
Article Photos
Times Observer photo by Brian Hagberg
Livin' on a prayer
Sheffield's Ike Nearing tosses up a shot while being fouled during an Allegheny Mountain League basketball game against Ridgway Tuesday at Sheffield High School. Nearing made the shot and completed the 3-point play, but the Elkers defeated the Wolverines 73-36.
Warren coach Jeff Berdine thought Tuesday's game would be a good test to see if the Dragons could match up with General McLane on defense, and physically, "and I thought we did that, especially in the first half," he said.
"But we didn't match the pressure," he said, adding that McLane's full-court defensive pressure in the second and third quarters, especially, was the most pressure the Dragons have seen this season.
McLane led by 20 after three quarters and the flow of the game forced Warren to take more risks or foul. The Lancers had 32 free-throw attempts in the game, including 18 in the second half.
Jaymon Mason was 8-of-9 from the line in the fourth quarter, and McLane 10-of-15 as a team.
Mason had 10 points in each of the third and fourth quarters and finished with a game-high 28 for General McLane.
Hank Morrison led Warren with 14 points and 10 rebounds, Matt Sandberg added 12 points, and Mark Davis added four blocks.
Warren had won six straight.
WARREN (46): Mark Davis 3 0-0 6, Grayson Foley 0 0-0 0, Austin Jerman 3 0-1 6, Matt Sandberg 5 0-0 12, Collin Fantaskey 0 0-0 0, Cody McGraw 0 0-0 0, Kory Thomas 0 0-0 0, Hank Morrison 5 4-6 14, Preston McMeans 3 2-3 8, Jack Daley 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 6-10 46.
GM (60): Mountain 0 0-1 0, Mason 6 13-15 28, Astorino 1 1-3 3, Kulka 2 5-6 9, Thompson 6 0-0 12, Ponsoll 2 2-7 8. Totals 17 23-32 60.
Warren 16 6 9 15 - 46
General McLane 18 6 22 14 - 60
3-pointers: W-Sandberg 2; G-Mason 3.
Junior varsity game
WARREN (35): Grayson Foley 1 1-2 3, Austin Schwanke 0 0-0 0, Ryan Gustafson 2 0-0 5, Collin Fantaskey 5 1-4 12, Cody McGraw 0 0-0 0, Andrew Hammersley 3 1-1 7, Jacoby Passmore 3 0-0 6, Tanner Stanz 1 0-0 2, Andrew Stanton 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 3-7 35.
GENERAL McLANE (45): Erdman 1 0-3 2, Hallett 3 7-8 14, Lucian 3 0-3 6, Kulka 6 0-5 12, Smith 4 1-2 11. Totals 17 8-21 45.
Warren 15 6 4 10 - 35
General McLane 23 10 9 13 - 45
3-pointers: W-Gustafson, Fantaskey; G-Hallett, Smith 2.
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Ridgway 73, Sheffield 36
This was not the kind of statement Sheffield's boys basketball team was looking to make against the Allegheny Mountain League South Division leader.
Ridgway (9-0, 2-0 AML South) outscored Sheffield (8-5, 1-2 AML North) 27-6 in the first quarter on its way to a 73-36 victory Tuesday at Sheffield High School.
"They're 9-0 for a reason," Sheffield coach Todd Fitch said. "They're a good, quality team."
The Elkers jumped out to a quick 11-2 advantage to open the game, and their press defense gave the Wolverines fits all night. Sheffield was cold from the floor, shooting just 24 percent for the game from the field, and key offensive contributors Mark Sprandle and Ike Nearing found themselves in foul trouble early.
Ridgway was able to move the ball well in its half court offense, and backdoor cuts led to easy baskets for the Elkers. Sheffield was able to slow the Ridgway offense somewhat in the second quarter, but the cold shooting continued and dashed any hopes of a Wolverine comeback.
The first half foul trouble led to a big discrepancy in free throw attempts as the Elkers had 23 shots from the line, making 16, while the Wolverines attempted only a single free throw in the half. Ridgway led 45-14 at the break.
"Fifteen fouls in the first half really put us at an early disadvantage," Fitch said. "We had to rely on a lot of kids who had just played a full J.V. game."
Nearing was able to spark a little offense in the second half, but turnovers translated into quick transition buckets for the Elkers and kept the Wolverines from cutting into the deficit.
"We've got to shake (this game) off and move on," Fitch said. "We've got a big game Friday and we need to play like we can play for a full 32 minutes."
Nearing led the Wolverines with 13 points. George Fitch had seven points, Kalil Slaughter had four markers to go along with seven rebounds and Tyler Fitzgerald had four points and five rebounds.
Nic Confer and Noah Heeter each had seven points in a 72-37 junior varsity loss.
RIDGWAY (73): Roselli 7 2-5 16, Matheson 5 4-5 14, Reynolds 3 5-9 11, Sorge 4 1-1 10, Mitchell 3 1-2 7, Oknefski 2 1-2 5, Lundin 2 0-2 4, Leithner 1 2-2 4, Zawatski 0 2-2 2, Byrd 0 0-0 0, Jacques 0 0-0 0, Kinkead 0 0-0 0, Carlson 0 0-0 0, Totals 27 18-30 73.
SHEFFIELD (36): Ike Nearing 5 2-3 13, George Fitch 3 1-2 7, Kalil Slaughter 2 0-0 4, Tyler Fitzgerald 2 0-1 4, Mark Sprandle 1 0-0 2, Nick Bonavita 1 0-0 2, Josh Anderson 1 0-1 2, Brendan Winslow 1 0-1 2, Dylan McNeal 0 0-0 0, Totals 16 3-8 36.
Ridgway 27 18 1 17-73
Sheffield 6 8 13 9-36
3-pointers: R-Sorge. S-Nearing.
Junior varsity game
RIDGWAY (72): Byrd 10 4-5 24, S. Roselli 5 2-2 12, MacDonald 5 0-0 10, J. Roselli 2 4-4 8, Bobby 1 2-2 4, Bailey 2 0-0 4, Stack 2 0-1 4, Horning 0 3-5 3, Jacques 1 0-0 2, Rickard 0 1-1 1, Cowan 0 0-0 0, Totals 28 14-20 72.
SHEFFIELD (37): Nick Confer 3 1-2 7, Noah Heeter 2 3-4 7, Brendan Winslow 2 2-2 6, Brandon Kipp 0 2-4 2, Travis Peterson 1 0-0 2, Tyler Fitzgerald 1 0-0 2, Luke McCracken 0 0-0 0, Totals 9 8-12 37.
Ridgway 19 17 22 14-72
Sheffield 12 8 6 11-37
3-pointers: R-None. S-None.