An odd sequence started a 10-0 second-quarter run for Warren's boys basketball team to break the game open as the Dragons rolled to an 85-59 Region 7 win over Harbor Creek on Friday at Warren Area High School.
Preston McMeans started the sequence when he was fouled while making a layup. McMeans missed the free throw, but Hank Morrison tipped the rebound back to him and McMeans drained a 3-pointer. Harbor Creek's (5-10, 4-5 Region 7) coach felt a foul should have been called on the rebound and was given a technical foul for his objections. Kory Thomas made both free throws and Matt Sandberg connected on a 3-pointer on the subsequent possession to give Warren a 27-17 lead. It was a lead the Dragons (12-4, 7-2) would not relinquish for the remainder of the game.
"That sequence really broke the game open," said Warren coach Jeff Berdine. "We hadn't been playing good defense up to that point, but that gave us all the momentum."
Article Photos
Times Observer photo by Brian Hagberg
Packed house
In front of a packed house in Joseph A. Massa Gymnasium at Warren Area High School, Warren’s Hank Morrison puts up a shot around three Harbor Creek defenders. Warren won, 85-59, to improve to 7-2, in the third place, in Region 7.
Warren jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead to open the game, but Harbor Creek answered with a 7-0 run to take a short-lived 10-7 advantage. McMeans stopped the run with his first 3-pointer of the game, and Morrison went 1-of-2 from the line to put the Dragons back on top. Both teams were playing up-tempo through the first quarter, and matched each other shot for shot down the stretch to end the period knotted at 17-17.
McMeans' three-point play happened early in the second quarter. Harbor Creek was able to get a field goal to end the 10-0 run, but Warren answered back with a field goal of its own. The Huskies called a timeout, and the Dragons promptly went on a 7-0 run afterwards to grab a 40-24 advantage. Warren took a 42-27 lead into the locker room.
"The kids did a nice job with the extra pass to get open threes," Berdine said.
Warren limited Harbor Creek to just four points through the first five minutes of the third quarter while building a 27-point lead.
"The middle two quarters we really put some distance on them," Berdine said. "We used the trap to keep them from getting good looks and took care of business on the inside."
The Dragons also had the advantage of shooting in front of the "Flannel Panel" in the second half. The Warren student group dubbed the evening "Superhero night" as the kids dressed as their favorite superhero for the game.
McMeans finished with 21 points and five assists while Morrison added an even 20 points and eight rebounds. Mark Davis had 10 points, eight rebounds and four blocks and Sandberg finished with 11 markers and six assists.
Warren, currently third in Region 7, will travel to Fort LeBoeuf Tuesday for a region matchup.
Collin Fantaskey and Jacoby Passmore each had 14 points to lead the Dragons to a 60-43 junior varsity victory. Austin Schwanke and Jack Daley each had eight points in the win.
HARBOR CREEK (59): Zoltowski 5 2-4 15, Mattison 3 1-2 10, Mattson 4 0-0 8, Renshaw 3 0-0 7, Becko 2 0-0 5, Whitcomb 1 3-4 5, Griffith 2 0-0 4, Rodgers 1 1-2 3, Pius 1 0-0 2, Robison 0 0-0 0, Stanopiewicz 0 0-0 0, Mazur 0 0-0 0, Totals 23 7-12 59.
WARREN (85): Preston McMeans 8 2-3 21, Hank Morrison 8 3-5 20, Matt Sandberg 5 0-0 11, Mark Davis 5 0-0 10, Austin Jerman 3 1-1 7, Grayson Foley 1 2-2 4, Collin Fantaskey 1 2-2 4, Kory Thomas 1 2-2 4, Jacoby Passmore 1 0-0 2, Jack Daley 1 0-0 2, Ryan Gustafson 0 0-0 0, Andrew Hammersley 0 0-0 0, Tanner Stanz 0 0-0 0, Totals 34 12-15 85.
Harbor Creek 17 10 13 19 - 59
Warren 17 25 25 18 - 85
3-pointers: H-Zoltowski 3, Renshaw, Becko, Mattison. W-McMeans 3, Morrison, Sandberg.
Junior varsity game
HARBOR CREEK (43): Mattson 4 4-4 13, Stanopiewicz 4 1-1 9, Whitcomb 3 1-2 7, Mitchell 3 0-0 6, Renshaw 1 3-6 5, Rogers 0 0-0 0, Gallagher 0 0-0 0, Pius 0 0-0 0, Totals 15 9-13 43.
WARREN (60): Collin Fantaskey 4 5-5 14, Jacoby Passmore 7 0-0 14, Austin Schwanke 3 2-2 8, Jack Daley 4 0-0 8, Cody McGraw 2 0-0 4, Tanner Stanz 2 0-0 4, Grayson Foley 1 1-2 3, Andrew Hammersley 1 1-1 3, Ryan Gustafson 1 0-2 2, Derek Hanlin 0 0-0 0, Andrew Stanton 0 0-0 0, Totals 25 9-16 60.
Harbor Creek 13 10 6 14 - 43
Warren 17 15 15 13 - 60
3-pointers: H-Mattson, Mazur. W-Fantaskey.
---
Sheffield 84, Kane 59
KANE - Ike Nearing led four Sheffield players in double figures with 27 points as the Wolverines shook off a run of three losses in their last four games with a convincing 84-59 victory over the Kane Wolves Friday at Kane Area High School.
"It was a real nice win," said Sheffield coach Todd Fitch. "We had four guys foul out, but were strong enough offensively to overcome that."
The Wolverines had four players disqualified with five fouls and the Wolves shot a total of 44 free throws in the game. Benefitting the Wolverines was the fact that Kane hit just 18 of those attempts.
Sheffield led by just two points after one quarter and by four points at the break. However, in the second half, the Wolverines held a 46-25 advantage.
The fourth quarter was the biggest advantage for the visitors as Sheffield outscored Kane, 29-12.
Nearing's 27 points was tops and Mark Sprandle added 18 points, including two 3-pointers. Nick Bonavita had 15 points, five steals and five assists and George Fitch finished with 13 points. Kalil Slaughter was held scoreless, but led the Wolverines with a team-best 11 rebounds.
Sheffield (10-6) returns to the court Monday, hosting Elk County Catholic.
The Wolverines' Brendan Winslow hit a 3-pointer as time expired to lift Sheffield to a thrilling 54-53 win in the junior varsity game.
The game winner was just icing on the cake for Winslow, who finished with a game-high 21 points.
SHEFFIELD (84): Ike Nearing 9 7-9 27, Mark Sprandle 8 0-0 18, Nick Bonavita 6 2-2 15, Josh Anderson 1 1-2 3, George Fitch 5 3-6 13, Kalil Slaughter 0 0-0 0, Brendan Winslow 1 2-4 4, Dylan McNeal 1 0-0 2, Dylan Reynolds 1 0-0 2, Tyler Fitzgerald 0 0-0 0, Totals: 32 15-23 84
KANE (59): Rawlick 4 8-13 16, Ennis 2 5-15 9, Cleer 2 0-2 5, Kojancic 8 2-3 20, Stefani 3 3-11 9, Totals: 19 18-44 59
Sheffield 20 18 17 29 - 84
Kane 18 16 13 12 - 59
3-pointers: S- Nearing 2, Sprandle 2, Bonavita; K- Cleer, Kojancic 2
Junior varsity game
SHEFFIELD (54): Nic Confer 2 0-0 4, Luke McCracken 0 0-0 0, Brendan Winslow 8 4-4 21, Kwante Johnson 0 0-0 0, Noah Heeter 1 1-2 3, Dylan McNeal 5 1-2 11, Dylan Reynolds 1 0-2 3, Brandon Kipp 1 0-0 3, Travis Peterson 2 0-0 4, Tyler Fitzgerald 2 1-1 5, Totals: 22 7-11 54
KANE (53): Cleer 6 0-1 17, Peterson 4 2-2 10, Anderson 1 10-15 12, Hodgdon 2 3-6 7, West 1 0-0 2, English 1 3-6 5, Totals: 15 18-30 53
Sheffield 15 12 13 14 - 54
Kane 12 15 15 11 - 53
3-pointers: S- Winslow, Reynolds, Kipp; K- Cleer 5
---
Union City 55, Youngsville 28
UNION CITY - Union City earned its first win of the season in a battle of winless teams on Friday at Union City High School.
"We just had a bunch of (shots) going in and out again," said Youngsville coach Ray Neidrick, whose Eagles are 0-14 overall.
Neidrick said the Eagles pushed the ball well, and played good defense for part of the game, and trailed 17-10 after one quarter.
Union City (1-14) outscored Youngsville 12-3 in the second quarter and 15-6 in the fourth in the Region 4 win.
YOUNGSVILLE (28): Broc Horn 3 0-1 6, Tom Chapman 1 1-2 3, Rocco Gatta 0 1-2 1, Coll Dininny 2 1-4 5, James Frazier 2 2-6 7, Dan McGlaughlin 1 0-0 2, Collin Lehmen 1 0-0 3, Josh Taydus 1 0-0 2. Totals 11 5-15 28.
UNION CITY (55): Burgess 0 6-6 6, Mangol 1 3-4 5, Hobin 6 4-8 18, Pituch 1 2-2 4, Russell 0 1-2 1, Maynard 0 8-9 8, Jackson 2 0-1 4, Ossa 2 1-3 5, Rogers 1 2-2 4. Totals 13 27-37 55.
Youngsville 10 3 9 6 - 28
Union City 17 12 11 15 - 55
3-pointers: Y-Frazier; U-Hobin 2.
Junior varsity game
YOUNGSVILLE (20): Trevor Flinn 1 0-0 3, Dustin Jesson 2 0-0 4, Levi 1 0-0 2, Collin Lehnen 2 5-10 11. Totals 6 5-10 20.
UNION CITY (47): Dagget 0 3-4 3, Paley 0 2-3 2, S. Russell 4 1-2 10, Maynard 7 0-0 14, T. Jackson 4 0-0 8, Ossa 2 1-2 5, Rogers 0 2-5 2, Pituch 1 1-2 3. Totals 18 10-18 47.
Youngsville 7 5 3 5 - 20
Union City 14 19 8 6 - 47
3-pointers: Y-Flinn, Lehnen 2; U-S. Russell.
---
Meadville Calvary 70, WCCS 53
MEADVILLE - Warren County Christian is 3-7 overall after a 70-53 loss at Meadville Calvary Baptist on Friday.
Third-place Meadville in the New Penn Christian Conference jumped out to a 20-7 first-quarter lead and never looked back.
Carson Moore led WCCS with 18 points, six rebounds and seven blocks; Josh Carpenter 16 points and eight steals; Andrew Laird six steals and five assists, and; Josh Wagonseller eight points and seven rebounds.
WCCS hosts Tidioute Charter in a boys/girls doubleheader on Tuesday.
WCCS (53): Andrew Laird 2 0-2 4, Josh Carpenter 6 2-3 16, Carson Moore 9 0-1 18, Josh Wagonseller 2 2-5 8, Jamie Petrush 2 1-1 5, Josiah Poindexter 1 0-0 2, Tommy Jones 0 0-1 0, Marcus Root 0 0-0 0, Daniel Lauffenburger 0 0-0 0, Eric Sorenson 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 5-13 53.
CALVARY BAPTIST (70): Hough 4 1-1 10, A. McCrillis 4 5-8 13, Munford 2 0-0 4, Hoefler 5 4-5 16, Orndorff 4 0-0 8, Dalton 1 0-0 2, Lang 1 0-0 3, VanNorman 1 0-0 2, J. Bacallao 2 0-3 4, Daisley 0 1-2 1. Totals 27 11-21-70.
WCCS 7 14 14 18 - 53
Meadville 20 12 25 13 - 70
3-pointers:W-Carpenter 2, Wagonseller 2; C-Hough, Hoefler 2, Lang, McCrillis
Junior varsity game
WCCS (15): Tommy Jones 1 0-0 2, Eric Sorenson 1 1-1 3, Josiah Poindexter 5 0-0 10. Totals 7 1-1 15.
CALVARY BAPTIST (44): Orndorff 1 0-0 2, Caldwell 1 0-0 2, Newhard 3 0-0 6, Bustamante 1 2-4 5, Sherrod 4 1-1 9, Tapper 2 0-0 4, D. Wilson 2 0-2 4, J. Wilson 2 0-0 4, Daisley 1 0-0 2, M. Wilson 1 0-0 2, Csiky 2 0-0 4. Totals 20 3-7 44
WCCS 2 2 7 4 - 15
Calvary Baptist 13 8 11 12 - 44
3-pointers: W-None; C-Bustmante.