New Philadelphia 41, Wooster 31

The New Philadelphia boys’ basketball team took a 41-31 win over Wooster on Feb. 17, led by a 17 point showing for Reid Wells.

“Reid Wells works as hard as anyone, he is always in the gym working on his shot and game,” said Coach Zach Ross. “The success he has had shooting the ball is well deserved for him.”

Wooster took an 8-7 lead after one quarter, and after outscoring the Quakers 14-11 in the second quarter, they had a 22-18 lead at the half. New Philadelphia turned it up a notch in the second half on defense, outscoring the Generals 9-4 and 14-5 in the final two quarters to take a 10 point win.

Wells led all scorers with his 17 points, and also had three boards and two assists. Colton Slaughter had eight points with a pair of threes, and an assist. Owen Miller had seven points, six boards and three assists. 

Wooster was led by Aidan Holford with eight points, four boards, one assist and a block. Tre Edwards had eight points and a rebound.

Coach Ross said this was a much needed win for New Philadelphia after a couple tough losses.

“We executed down the stretch in the fourth quarter, made our free throws and locked down defensively,” Ross said. It was good to see to see us celebrate a win on Senior Night. We still play one more game before the tournament begins, we will continue to improve habits in practice. We will continue to work and play hard and be the best versions of ourselves we can be.”

East Knox 55, Granville Christian Academy 54

Corbin Poff had a huge three in the fourth quarter, and put up 11 points in the closing frame, to take 55-54 win over Granville Christian Academy last week.

Andrew Benvie had a huge day for Granville Christian Academy with 37 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Bulldogs were able to fight their way to a one point victory.

The Bulldogs went up 9-5 to start the game, highlighted by a three for Logan Whitney with less than a minute left in the first. They played strong defense in the opening quarter, with Hayden Merritt and Jesse Dudgeon recording steals.

In the second quarter it was a 15-14 lead for the Bulldogs when Merritt extended the lead to four on a wide open three from the corner. Granville Christian would battle back and take a 27-22 lead at the half. Andrew Benvie hit four threes and had 18 points in the second quarter for the Lions. East Knox got seven points out of Merritt, and he led the Bulldogs with nine points at halftime. Derek Field and Corbin Poff had four points and a steal each in the quarter.

In the third quarter, Kyson Miller put the Bulldogs up 30-29 on a big three with 3:40 left. About 30 seconds later he hit another from downtown to make it a 33-29 game. With less than a minute to go, the Lions were up 36-35, but Derrick Field had a big block to keep it a one point deficit. After three quarters it was a 38-37 Lions lead, as East Knox had a 15-11 advantage in the third quarter.

With just under two minutes to go in the game, Poff drilled a three to go up 50-47. There was less than five seconds left when Bryer Korosec came up with a vital steal to secure the one point win. In the fourth quarter, Poff went off for 11 points to help the Bulldogs win their third game of the season.

Poff led the scoring with 17 points, including a pair of fourth quarter threes. Korosec had 12 points and Merritt also hit double figures with 10 points.

St. Peter’s 71, Loudonville 57

Loudonville took a 71-57 loss to St. Peter’s on Feb. 16, despite Dilan Wade and Judah Layton combining for 51 points.

St. Peter’s led 18-11 after one quarter and 39-24 at halftime. Loudonville woke up with a 17-12 third quarter to make it a 10 point deficit, but St. Peter’s outscored the Redbird 22-18 down the stretch to secure the win.

Wade scored 28 points and drilled five threes in the game. He had 18 points in the second half. Layton had 23 points and hit five threes. He had a big second half with 17 points, including four makes from downtown.

“Layton’s and Wade’s strengths of their games are there shooting,” Coach Jim Bates said. “Both percentages have risen as the season has progressed. Judah Layton is a class act all the way. He’s a top student top a regional golfer and a one of the better baseball players in the area. He’s done everything I’ve asked during this season. Hopefully with what’s left in the season these boys can learn a lesson or two that will be valuable for next season, seeing that most the team is back.”

Mansfield Christian 84, Fredericktown 43

Mansfield Christian dominated Fredericktown last week in an 84-43 win, where the Flames went up big early and never let up.

The Flames took a 16-10 lead after one quarter and it was still anyone’s game, but Mansfield Christian upped the scoring in the second quarter to take a 41-24 lead at the half. They continued their offensive surge in the third quarter, outscoring the Freddies 26-14 and taking a 57-38 lead after three. Fredericktown’s offense sputtered in the fourth, and the Flames outscored them 17-5 down the stretch.

Mansfield Christian was led by the trifecta of Brock Rentzel, Amarr Davis and Davion Mack who combined for 60 points in the win. Davis had as game high 22 points, and also had six assists, three rebounds, five steals and a block. Rentzel put up 20 points and was 4-for-6 from three. He also had five boards, three steals and an assist. Mack added 18 points, five boards, two assists and a steal.

Gavin Toombs was the lone Freddie in double figures with 21 points. He also tallied eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal. 

“We didn't get off to a very good start and just never were able to recover,” Coach Derek Dibling said. “We did a poor job of executing and our inability to control pace and play at a comfortable pace led to too many turnovers and easy buckets for them. We learn from it, move on, and get better.”