After 32 minutes of body blows, Warren's Matt Sandberg finally landed the knockout punch.
Sandberg calmly knocked down his fifth 3-pointer, and last three of his 29 points, just before the final buzzer sounded, lifting the Dragons (4-0) to a thrilling 77-75 victory over the McDowell Trojans Tuesday at Warren Area High School.
Trailing by one with 13.6 seconds remaining, Warren coach Jeff Berdine called a timeout to set up one final play. After inbounding the ball and pushing it upcourt, Collin Fantaskey found an open Sandberg with the seconds ticking down. Despite being several feet behind the three-point line, Sandberg fired away.
Article Photos
Times Observer photo by Allen Seybert
Big man on campus
Warren’s Matt Sandberg is congratulated by members of Warren’s student section “The Flannel Panel” seconds after Sandberg hit the game-winning three-pointer just before the final buzzer of Tuesday’s 77-75 victory over McDowell at Warren Area High School.
The shot found the bottom of the net and the final ticks rolled off the clock before the Trojans could even inbound the ball, sending teammates and members of Warren's student cheering section - "The Flannel Panel" - swarming the senior point guard just in front of the scorer's table. Jubilant members of the Flannel Panel lifted Sandberg into the air in triumph.
"I was deep off the line and the defender was giving me a lot of space so I just let it fly," said Sandberg. "Collin hit me with a great pass and I was able to put the ball in the hoop. It's just the greatest feeling in the world right now. To beat a Class AAAA school and to do it that way is pretty cool."
The win was Warren's first over McDowell since the 2005 season when the Dragons beat the Trojans, 54-49, on December 23.
"I told the guys that I felt like we owed them one," said Berdine. "Last year (during a 52-50 loss at McDowell) we let one get away down the stretch. We had a nice advantage with the game being at our gym in front of our mass of local crazies and we didn't give up. I told them that right there is why you can never give in."
Berdine offered a great deal of credit to his bench, especially Andrew Hammersley, Phil Hachula and Jacoby Passmore who were forced to play big minutes when big man Mark Davis got into early foul trouble. He also credited Davis with a tremendous defensive effort.
"I thought Mark's play on the defensive end, especially in the third quarter, really changed the momentum. I think his defense around the rim really forced (McDowell) to change the way they were attacking offensively."
The first quarter of Tuesday's contest belonged to the Trojans who bolted out to a 19-12 lead after the first eight minutes. The Dragons warmed up offensively in the second stanza, pouring in 30 points to take a 42-38 lead to the locker room.
Fantaskey's baseline drive and short jumper gave Warren its first lead of the game with just over a minute left in the first half and -foreshadowing future events - Sandberg drained a three-pointer just before the final buzzer of the first half to put the Dragons up four at halftime.
The momentum of Sandberg's buzzer-beater carried over into the third quarter where Warren opened the half on an 8-2 run, pushing the lead to ten. The lead would swell to as many as 14 points with just three minutes left on the third quarter clock.
McDowell came storming back.
The Dragons would go five straight possessions without scoring and McDowell collected a bucket on each of their offensive trips during that span to get within 58-54 at the end of three quarters.
Warren was able to maintain an advantage of anywhere from two to eight points for much of the final quarter, but the Trojans took a 71-70 lead with 2:24 remaining as Michael Beck drained a three for McDowell. Another Beck bucket with 1:41 to play made it 73-70 and Warren's hopes appeared to be fading.
Sophomore Tanner Stanz made the biggest shot of his young career with 1:17 left in the game, draining a jumper from the middle of the paint to get the Dragons within one. On McDowell's next possession, Austin Jerman provided perhaps the biggest defensive play of the game, drawing a charge and negating a Trojans bucket.
The Dragons were unable to score on their next offensive possession and Beck scored his sixth straight point with 49 ticks left to make it 75-72. Warren pushed the ball upcourt and Sandberg was quickly fouled, sending him to the free-throw line with 38 seconds left. The senior calmly knocked down both freebies to make it 75-74 in the favor of the visitors.
Warren's full-court press was able to create two turnovers in the final 45 seconds of the contest, but each time a possible go-ahead score came up short. The last missed attempt was rebounded by McDowell's Josh Santillan and the Dragons fouled him, sending him to the line for a one-and-one opportunity.
Santillan missed the front end of the one-and-one and the Dragons corralled the rebound as Berdine shouted emphatically for the team's final timeout.
That set the stage for Sandberg's heroics, sending the Warren faithful - who had stayed incredibly vocal for the entire duration of the game - home happy.
In addition to Sandberg's 29 points, Warren received a 17-point effort from Fantaskey, 10 points from Jerman and nine points from Jack Daley. Jerman added seven rebounds and seven assists as did Davis, Fantaskey chipped in seven steals and four boards and Daley dished out five assists.
The Dragons fell, 63-48, in the junior varsity game. Max Gross led the Dragons with 12 points.
Warren will try to continue its perfect start to the campaign Friday when it travels to Bradford.
MCDOWELL (75): Lewis 3 3-4 10, Hansen 7 0-1 17, Stromenger 1 1-2 3, Wolf 7 0-1 14, Beck 8 1-3 18, Conner 5 0-0 10, Santillan 1 1-2 3, Totals: 32 6-12 75
WARREN (77): Grayson Foley 0 0-0 0, Austin Jerman 3 4-5 10, Phil Hachula 1 0-0 2, Mark Davis 1 2-2 4, Matt Sandberg 11 2-2 29, Collin Fantaskey 7 1-2 17, Tanner Stanz 3 0-0 6, Andrew Hammersley 0 0-0 0, Jacoby Passmore 0 0-0 0, Jack Daley 3 2-2 9, Totals: 29 11-13 77
McDowell 19 19 16 21 - 75
Warren 12 30 16 19 - 77
3-pointers: M- Lewis, Hansen 3, Beck; W- Sandberg 5, Fantaskey 2, Daley
Junior varsity game
MCDOWELL (63): Lewis 6 3-3 18, Tarasovitch 1 0-2 2, Kerr 3 3-3 10, Stromenger 6 4-6 17, Blake 1 0-0 2, Stull 0 1-2 1, Dirkmaat 1 2-2 4, Orinick 4 1-2 9, Totals: 22 14-22 63
WARREN (48): Nate Sandberg 1 0-0 2, Austin Schwanke 3 0-2 8, Ryan Gustafson 4 0-0 11, John White 1 0-0 2, Max Gross 5 2-7 12, Scott Vasilisin 2 0-0 6, Kyle Kulka 1 0-2 2, Matt Hultquist 0 3-5 3, Jason Tipton 0 0-0 0, Justin Wright 0 0-0 0, Sam Lindquist 1 0-0 2, Totals: 18 5-16 48
McDowell 15 13 20 15 -63
Warren 14 14 12 8 - 48
3-pointers: M- Lewis 3, Kerr, Stromenger; W- Schwanke 2, Gustafson 3, Vasilisin 2
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Maplewood 52, Youngsville 41
Youngsville fell into a hole early against Maplewood, and was unable to rally back, falling to the Tigers, 52-41, on Tuesday at Youngsville High School.
Maplewood jumped out early in the game, and took a 15-9 lead into the second quarter before extending their lead to nine points before halftime.
The Eagles came out energized in the second half, scoring the first five points, but the Tigers answered back with a run of their own late in the quarter.
Youngsville wasn't able to put together any type of run in the fourth quarter, being outscored 17-14.
Broc Horn led the Eagles with 16 points and Coll Dininny added 12.
Youngsville's J.V. team also fell to Maplewood, 59-24. Joey Chuzie led the team with seven points and Trevor Flinn added six.
"For two games in a row, our shooting percentage has been atrocious," Youngsville coach Keith Martin said afterward. "We shoot great in practice, but I think we're shooting about 30 percent in the last two games. This program is so used to losing that when we're close late in the game, these guys don't know what to do."
The Eagles (1-4) will look to rebound on Friday when they travel to Saegertown.
MAPLEWOOD (52): Lake 1 1-1 3, Maloney 0 0-2 0, Battin 5 3-4 13, Bakus 0 2-6 2, Jeremy Dahl 3 0-6 6, Justin Dahl 5 7-11 18, Klinger 0 0-0 0, Barker 0 0-0 0, Maloney 2 2-2 6, Reagle 2 0-0 4. Totals 18 15-32 52
YOUNGSVILLE (41): Collin Lehnen 0 1-2 1, Joey Chuzie 2 0-0 5, Jacob Linkerhof 2 0-0 4, James Frazier 0 3-6 3, Broc Horn 7 1-2 16, Coll Dininny 3 6-9 12, Branden Lake 0 0-2 0. Totals 17 11-21 41
Maplewood 15 10 10 17 52
Youngsville 9 7 11 14 41
3-pointers: M-Dahl. Y-Chuzie, Horn.
Junior varsity game
MAPLEWOOD (59): Barker 4 0-0 12, Smith 1 0-0 2, Weldon 3 0-2 7, Williams 0 0-1 0, Gonzales 4 2-2 10, Dahl 1 0-0 2, Leech 2 2-2 6, Delo 4 0-1 8, Klingensmith 1 1-2 4, Peters 4 0-2 8. Totals 24 5-12 59.
YOUNGSVILLE (24): Trevor Flinn 2 0-0 6, Joey Chuzie 3 0-1 7, Jacob Linkerhof 1 0-0 3, Corey Jones 0 1-2 1, Andrew Tyers 1 0-0 2, Ben Frederick 0 1-2 1, Dacoda Buchanan 1 0-0 2, Branden Lake 1 0-2 2. Totals 9 2-7 24
Maplewood 13 18 16 12 59
Youngsville 3 4 12 5 24
3-pointers: M-Barker 4, Weldon, Klingensmith. S-Flinn 2, Chuzie, Linkerhof.
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GIRLS BASKETBALL
McDowell B 51, Tidioute 7
Tidioute Charter is 0-5 after an afternoon loss to McDowell B.
"We're having a hard time because of the talent we're coming up against, just not trusting ourselves in running something and staying with it," said Tidioute Charter coach Ted Nuttall, whose Bulldogs are at Rocky Grove on Thursday.
McDOWELL B (51): Sicari 7 0-1 15, Christenson 2 0-0 4, Zimmer 1 1-6 3, Dillmen 4 3-10 11, Zaughn 5 0-0 10, McHenry 2 0-0 4, Nieratko 2 0-0 4, Totals 23 4-17 51.
TCCS (7): Aubrey Sonney 0 0-0 0, Brianna Tyler 0 0-0 0, Robbi Kightlinger 1 0-0 2, Morgan Molek 1 0-0 2, Tanya Krouse 0 0-0 0, Emalai Schaberl 0 0-0 0, Casey Byers 1 1-2 3, Emily Hagberg 0 0-0 0, Lauren Slack 0 0-0 0, Allyvia Morgan 0 0-0 0. Totals 3 1-2 7.
McDowell B 11 15 16 8 - 51
TCCS 1 2 2 2 - 7
3-pointers: M-Sicari, T-None.
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Monday
Conneaut 50,
Eisenhower 19
LINESVILLE - Eisenhower lost its Region 3 opener on Monday, but it was a tough Region 3 opener.
The Knights traveled to Conneaut Area to play the only Class AAA team out of the predominantly Class A and AA region.
"We knew it was going to be a tough one, because they return four starters from Linesville last year, which was the region runner-up," said Logue, whose Knights - which are one of three Class A teams in the seven-team region - are 2-3 overall. "They are a very experienced team, a team that we anticipated wanted to get after us with their 1-2-2 trap. We had our problems and didn't take care of the basketball. The times where we handled their press, we didn't capitalize."
Alyssa Peterson led Eisenhower, which hosts Cambridge Springs in another region game on Thursday, with 13 points.
EISENHOWER (19): Holly Chapman 2 0-1 4, Brooke Stanton 1 0-0 2, Alyssa Peterson 5 3-4 13, Kristen Williams 0 0-1 0, Meghan Hagberg 0 0-0 0, Halie VanOrd 0 0-0 0, Dakota Williams 0 0-0 0, Bailey Burch 0 0-0 0, Haylie Birt 0 0-0 0, Danielle Bradish 0 0-0 0, Chelsea Parmenter 0 0-0 0, Mallory Trumbull 0 0-0 0, Kristen Wagner 0 0-0 0. Totals 8 3-6 19.
CONNEAUT (50): Krider 5 1-2 12, Phelps 1 1-2 3, Litwiler 3 3-6 9, Baker 2 4-12 8, Wood 1 0-0 2, Litwin 4 0-1 11, Shidemantle 1 0-0 2, Clement 1 1-2 3. Totals 18 10-25 50.
Eisenhower 6 6 7 0 - 19
Conneaut 19 14 9 8 - 50
3-pointers: E-None; C-Krider, Litwin 3.
Junior varsity game
EISENHOWER (22): Paige Parmenter 4 1-1 9, Taylor Haner 1 0-0 2, Mallory Trumbull 1 0-0 2, Haylie Birt 1 0-0 3, Abby Lundmark 1 0-0 2, Kristen Wagner 2 0-4 4, Meghan Hagberg 0 0-0 0, Shania Spicer 0 0-0 0, Alexis Eckenrod 0 0-0 0, Allie Schutt 0 0-0 0, Emily McJunkin 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 1-5 22.
CONNEAUT (42): Uplinger 2 3-4 7, Weber 3 0-0 6, Zarembinski 0 2-2 2, Phelps 6 2-2 14, Miller 2 1-2 5, Wilson 1 0-0 2, Williams 1 0-0 2, Baum 1 0-0 2, Egli 1 0-2 2, Totals 17 8-12 42.
Eisenhower 4 5 4 9 - 22
Conneaut 8 11 15 8 - 42
3-pointers: E-Birt; C-None.
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Seneca 56, Youngsville 29
WATTSBURG - The Youngsville Lady Eagles dropped their fourth straight game to start the season with a 56-29 road loss to Seneca Monday night.
Katie Chuzie scored a season-high 12 points, nine of which came from beyond the arc, and Kennedy Cratty followed with 11 for Youngsville.
Kym Braine led the attack for the Bobcats with 18 points.
The Eagles (0-4) will continue to look for their first win on Thursday when they face class AAA opponent Conneaut at Youngsville High School.
Seneca defeated Youngsville in the junior varsity game, 49-12. No individual statistics were provided.
YOUNGSVILLE (29): Katie Chuzie 4 1-2 12, Jessie Jameson 1 0-1 2, Kennedy Cratty 3 5-6 11, Aubree Hendrickson 1 0-0 2, Karissa Cratty 1 0-0 2, Kelsey Anderson 0 0-2 0, Katelyn Maille 0 0-0 0, Judi Lewis 0 0-0 0, Savannah Pollow 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 6-11 29.
SENECA (56): Braine 8 2-2 18, Little 2 0-0 4, Sonney 4 3-4 11, Fish 1 0-0 2, Teed 4 2-2 10, Smarski 1 0-0 2, Barnett 2 2-4 6, Bender 1 0-0 2, Koeth 0 1-2 1. Totals 23 10-14 56.
Youngsville 6 7 8 8 - 29
Seneca 20 11 18 7 - 56
3-pointers: Y - Chuzie 3; S - none.
Junior varsity game
Seneca 49, Youngsville 12