East Knox storms back to tie, loses to Utica in OT, 63-60
In a game of two halves, Utica controlled the first half by 15 points and East Knox stormed back to take the second half by 15. Utica won the contest in overtime by three points to come away with a 63-60 win. The loss was the Bulldogs’ first against seven wins, while Utica improved to 6-1.
Zach Heckman hit two threes in the first and Trenton Collins sank three twos for Utica as it took an 18-10 lead. The Bulldogs countered with scoring from four players.
In the second, Heckman got another from beyond the arc and Beau Dunlap swished a pair of threes as each player scored six points to increase Utica’s lead to 40-25 at halftime. Dillon Moreland hit eight points, including a three for EK.
In the third, EK came out smoking and cut the lead to six with a 16-7 run. Carson Steinmetz led the Bulldogs’ assault with eight points (two threes). Collins led the Redskins with six of the team’s eight points. East Knox kept coming back and tied it in the fourth with a 14-8 quarter. Moreland scored five and Shane Knepp put in four for EK, and Collins connected for the Indians’ only two buckets for four of Utica’s seven points.
Utica won it in OT on six points by Seth Cooper and two by Collins. Knepp hit for three points, and Whitney got two in OT for East Knox.
Utica was led by Collins with 23 points. Cooper scored 14 and Heckman 13. East Knox had four players in double figures, paced by Moreland’s 19. Steinmetz and Knepp each scored 11 points, and Whitney dropped in 10.
Danville’s comeback comes up short in loss to Tree of Life, 61- 59
Danville dropped its fourth straight game and fell to 2-7 with a 61-59 loss to host Tree of Life on Tuesday.
The Blue Devils took an early lead on nine first-quarter points by Wyatt Weckesser and ended the first with a 13-11 advantage. Tree of Life came back on balanced scoring from five players, and despite an eight-point second by Danville’s Max Payne, the first-half horn sounded with Tree of Life ahead 34-30.
Blue Devils sophomore Kendall Carter drained four field goals in the third, but Tree of Life built on its lead with a 15-13 quarter to enter the final frame up 49-43.
Danville came back in the fourth on eight points by Weckesser and threes from Payne and Cam Miller but couldn’t eke out the win.
Paul Jacob led Tree of Life with 20 points and put in four from 3-point range.
Danville saw scoring from seven players, led by Weckesser with 21 points, Payne with 11 and Miller and Carter with eight points each.
Galion upsets Northmor, 73-64, to drop Knights to .500
The expected outcome turned in favor of the home team, as the host Galion Tigers entered with a 1-6 record but defeated the visiting Northmor Golden Knights, 73-64.
The loss dropped Northmor to 5-5 this season.
Galion took a 19-12 first-quarter lead on balanced scoring from six players. Northmor’s Andrew Armrose swished a three and hit for five points in the first.
The Tigers increased the lead with a 20-18 second quarter to take a 39-30 halftime lead, despite Northmor’s Grant Bentley connecting for two threes in a seven-point frame.
Bentley came out firing in the third and banged home four 2-point buckets, while Armrose and Max Lower each sank a three. The Golden Knights cut into the Tigers' lead with a 20-14 stanza to enter the fourth down 53-50.
In the fourth, Bentley and Lower each hit for five points and Graesin Cass got four, but the Tigers extended their lead with a 20-14 frame.
For the Golden Knights, among six scorers, Bentley finished with 23 points, Max Lower had 13, Caleb Schnuerer hit for nine and Armrose recoreded eight.
Highland’s second half subdues Mansfield Christian, 53-40
Garrett Fitzpatrick scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half as the Flying Scots flew past visiting Mansfield Christian in the final 16 minutes to post a 53-40 victory in the Highland Boys Basketball Holiday Tournament on Tuesday night.
Highland improved to 3-5 on the season with the win.
Mansfield kept it close in the first half. Mansfield led after one, 14-12, and Highland took the slow second quarter, 9-5, to take a two-point lead (21-19) at halftime. The Scots exploded in the third (18-9) to enter the fourth ahead 39-28, then protected the lead with a 14-12 fourth. The third saw Jordan Bellamy hit two threes and score eight points, and Fitzpatrick hit for five, then took over with four deuces in the fourth to seal the deal.
The Scots had scoring contributions from six players, led by Bellamy with 19 points and Fitzpatrick with 17.
