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Dragons lead wire-to-wire in victory over Oil City

Warren’s Ben Berdine goes up for a shot as he is fouled by Oil City’s Alec Klapec during the first half of their game on Friday at Warren Area High School. Berdine scored a game-high 18 points in the 68-61 Warren victory.

With one flick of his wrist on Friday, Warren’s Ryan Rafalski helped put away any bad taste from Tuesday’s loss at Harbor Creek.

After scoring just nine second-half points against the Huskies, Rafalski drilled a 3 to start the game and the Dragons offensive execution was solid from start to finish in a 68-61 Region 6 win over Oil City at Joseph A. Massa Gymnasium.

“I was proud of the way we came out,” said Warren coach Jeff Berdine. “My biggest fear was we weren’t going to make any shots early and have a carryover from Harbor Creek. But Ryan made that first one right out of the gate. That was a huge shot for us.”

The Dragons led wire-to-wire, although Oil City kept within striking distance throughout.

The Oilers, trailing by 12 early in the second quarter, went on a 14-3 to cut the margin to one before the Dragons closed the half on an

8-0 surge, capped by a Rafalski triple.

Payton Barnes (30), Drew Swanson (25) and the Warren Dragons will play Conneaut in the D-10 Class 4A quarterfinals on Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Hagerty Events Center in Erie.

“Ryan played well early and made some big shots,” Berdine said. “After you score nine points in a half, you can come up with every excuse in the world about why we played bad on offense, but when you watch the film, it doesn’t lie. We were impatient and we didn’t execute.Tonight our execution was much better.”

The biggest sequence of the game came to start the fourth quarter.

The Dragons (10-7 overall, 6-4 Region 6), who were still clinging to a single-digit lead, scored on five of six possessions to begin the fourth.

Specifically, Drew Swanson was huge, scoring on three-straight trips down the court, including an old-school 3-point play.

Mitch Grosch followed with a three and a Ben Berdine layup gave the Dragons their largest lead of the game, 62-48, with 4:53 to go.

The Flannel Panel, honoring Kobe Bryant, cheers the Dragons on Friday.

Payton Barnes and the rest of the Dragons hit their free throws down the stretch to finish it off.

“That was the biggest sequence of the game when they went to their halfcourt trap,” coach Berdine said. “Drew got open shots and knocked them down.”

Oil City (8-11, 3-6) stayed in the game thanks in large part to the play of their bench, which scored 29 of their 61 points. In a game that featured 20 made 3’s (11 by Oil City and 9 by Warren), the VanWormer’s – Robert and Cam, nailed a pair during the Oilers’ second-quarter run.

Tom Bablak, who finished with 17 points, hit a jumper to end the spurt in front of Rafalski’s 3.

“They did a good job mixing up their personnel when we went to our zone,” Berdine said. “We knew those kids could shoot it.”

Berdine also noted the strong play of his own bench in the win.

“I thought tonight, defensively we got a lot of energy off the bench out of Avery (Vazquez), Arnie (Ryan Arnold), TJ (Tyler Gustafson) and Drew (Swanson). They did a good job in transition defense. I was very happy with that.”

Berdine led three Warren players in double figures scoring with 18 points to go along with five rebounds and four steals. Bablak had six rebounds, five assists and five steals in addition to his 17 points, while Rafalski had 10 points and Grosch five assists.

Spencer McFall had 17 to pace OC.

The Dragons were also winners in the JV game, 54-47. Bryce Blair had 15 points, Justice Greene 10 and JT Blum nine for the Dragons.

Up next is a Saturday night treat for Warren County fans, as the Dragons welcome Youngsville for a 6 p.m. JV start with varsity to follow.

Fans are encouraged to arrive early.

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