Twelve of the 14 members of Warren's roster that played Friday evening found the scoring column and the Dragons remained unbeaten in Warren County Tipoff Classic history with a 72-22 thumping of Youngsville at Warren Area High School.
In the 10-year history of the event, the Dragons have never once tasted defeat and have rarely been tested.
Friday night was another in a long line of Warren runaways.
Article Photos
Times Observer photo by Ben Oviatt
Small window
Sheffield's Tyler Fitzgerald tries to sneak a pass by Eisenhower's Ryan Williams (31) while Nathan O'Brien (15) provides support.
After spotting the Eagles an early 4-0 lead, the Dragons (1-0) turned up the heat scoring 27 of the final 29 points scored in the opening quarter. A 19-1 advantage in the second stanza gave the Dragons a commanding 46-7 lead at halftime and things didn't get much closer in the second half of play
"Our key tonight was limiting our mental mistakes and trying to get out in transition early," said Warren coach Jeff Berdine. "We felt if we played the game at the pace we wanted, we could wear them out and use our depth to our advantage. We were able to do that tonight."
Only three Warren players reached double figures despite 12 players scoring at least two points. Matt Sandberg scored all of his team-high 12 points in the first half and Jacoby Passmore and Mark Davis also finished in double digits with 10 points each.
Davis led the team on the boards with eight and Sandberg and Andrew Hammersley had five boards each. Tanner Stanz added six steals and Sandberg had five of his own.
Broc Horn paced the Eagles with 10 points and Coll Dininny scored eight of Youngsville's first nine points of the evening. James Frazier was the third and final Eagle to score in Friday's contest, finishing with four markers.
In what could very well be the final day in Warren County Tipoff Classic history on Saturday, the Dragons will try to keep their perfect mark intact when they face the Eisenhower Knights in a 4:30 p.m. clash. Youngsville will try to shake off the difficult loss during a 7:30 p.m. game against Sheffield.
YOUNGSVILLE (22): Coll Dininny 4 0-0 8, Broc Horn 4 1-2 10, Collin Lehnen 0 0-0 0, Jacob Linkerhof 0 0-0 0, James Frazier 1 2-2 4, Logan Morrison 0 0-0 0, A.J. Gustafson 0 0-0 0, Dan McLaughlin 0 0-0 0, Branden Lake 0 0-0 0, Totals: 9 3-4 22
WARREN (72): Jacoby Passmore 5 0-0 10, Andrew Hammersley 3 1-2 7, Austin Jerman 2 1-2 5, Grayson Foley 0 0-0 0, Jack Daley 1 0-0 2, Phil Hachula 1 1-1 3, Austin Schwanke 1 2-2 5, Tanner Stanz 1 0-0 2, Matt Sandberg 6 0-0 12, Nathan Sandberg 2 0-0 4, Mark Davis 5 0-0 10, Ryan Gustafson 3 1-2 8, Collin Fantaskey 1 0-0 2, Matt Hultquist 1 0-0 2, Justin Wright 0 0-0 0, Totals: 32 6-9 72
Youngsville 6 1 4 11 - 22
Warren 27 19 14 12 - 72
3-pointers: Y- Horn; W- Schwanke, Gustafson
---
Eisenhower 52, Sheffield 45
There were probably more than a few ears ringing after Sheffield and Eisenhower's boys basketball game during the opening night of the Warren County Tipoff Classic Friday at Warren Area High School.
The referee's whistle stole the show during the Knights' 52-45 season-opening victory over the Wolverines.
The numbers speak volumes.
Over 50 fouls were called during the contest, a total of five players fouled out with the maximum five fouls and the teams combined to shoot 67 free throws. Each team struggled at the line with the Knights finishing 22-of-47 and the Wolverines at a nightmarish 6-of-20 or 30 percent.
"We just have a bad taste in our mouths right now," said Eisenhower coach Dave Allenson. "Yeah, it was a win, but this certainly wasn't anything to cherish."
Despite trying to replace six seniors lost from last year's playoff qualifying team, the Wolverines looked unfazed early jumping out to an 11-3 lead after the opening quarter.
In the second quarter, Eisenhower (1-0) was able to rebound from a cold shooting first quarter, storming back to take a 21-20 lead into the half. The Wolverines' poor free throw shooting was a big reason Sheffield trailed at the break. After the first 16 minutes of the game, Sheffield was just 3-of-14 from the charity stripe.
Things began heating up in the second half as each team's returning leading scorer- Aaron Lundmark for the Knights and Brendan Winslow for the Wolverines - began putting on an offensive show.
Eisenhower was able to stretch its lead to three after the third quarter thanks to 14 third-quarter points from Lundmark. Winslow did all he could do to keep Sheffield close, scoring his first 10 points of the game during the third quarter.
While the entire game was plagued by fouls, the fourth quarter was especially sloppy. However, the Knights hit just enough free throws down the stretch to keep Sheffield from getting too close.
Lundmark had a game-high 26 points to lead the Knights who also received a nine-point effort from Jarrett Johnson and an eight-point showing from Colin Shine. Winslow scored all 15 of his points in the second half to lead Sheffield and Shequan Wright, Tyler Fitzgerald and Dylan McNeal all narrowly missed double-digit scoring efforts with nine points each.
Both teams return to the court Saturday. The Knights battle Warren at 4:30 p.m. while the Wolverines play Youngsville in the Classic's 7:30 p.m. finale.
SHEFFIELD (45): Dylan Reynolds 1 1-2 3, Adam Higby 0 1-2 1, Brendan Winslow 5 3-4 15, Shequan Wright 4 1-4 9, Chris Pederson 0 0-0 0, Dylan McNeal 4 0-3 9, Jimmy Vile 0 0-0 0, Brandon Kipp 0 0-2 0, Nic Confer 0 0-0 0, Tyler Fitzgerald 4 0-3 9, Totals: 18 6-20 45
EISENHOWER (52): Aaron Lundmark 7 9-15 26, Carter Farrell 0 0-2 0, Jarrett Johnson 2 5-8 9, Colin Shine 3 2-8 8, Nathan O'Brien 0 2-6 2, Alex Johnson 0 1-2 1, Ryan Williams 1 3-6 6, Ricky Zortman 0 0-0 0, Totals: 13 22-47 52
Sheffield 11 9 16 9 - 45
Eisenhower 3 18 18 13 - 52
3-pointers: S- Winslow 2, McNeal; E- Lundmark 3, Williams
---
Cameron County 57, TCCS 14
MARIENVILLE - Tidioute Charter is 0-3 after a 57-14 East Forest Tournament opening-round loss to Cameron County on Friday.
The Bulldogs will play the loser of East Forest-West forest in the tournament consolation game on Saturday at East Forest.
"They are an excellent team, they have everything they need to be successful," TCCS coach Dave Manning said of Cameron County, 12-11 last year. "We are a young team. Everyone we have that's a guard is a sophomore or freshman. When they got in our faces, we couldn't handle it. We have to get used to the pressure and figure out how to get around it."
CAMERON COUNTY (57): Clingon 5 0-0 10, Cuisto 2 0-0 4, Wigfield 6 2-2 14, Spehalski 1 0-0 2, Sestina 7 3-4 17, Nellis 2 0-1 4, Markum 2 2-4 6, Newhouse 1 0-0 2. Totals 27 7-11 57.
TCCS (14): Jordan Yeager 2 0-0 4, Jonathan Buccardo 0 0-0 0, Brian Faulkner 1 2-4 4, Travis McLaughlin 0 0-0 0, Gus Martin 0 0-0 0, Chance Close 0 0-0 0, Pat Thompson 1 0-0 2, Ben Kightlinger 2 0-1 4. Totals 6 2-5 14.
Cameron County 21 14 14 10 - 57
TCCS 3 6 1 4 - 14
3-pointers: None.