CHAMPION Tigers' practice makes perfect

Newton Falls shot well from the free-throw line.
By DOUG CHAPIN
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
CHAMPION -- Eric Lance scored all eight of his points in the fourth quarter as the Newton Falls High basketball team remained unbeaten Friday by winning a Trumbull Athletic Conference war over Champion, 49-47.
Lance, who made four free throws in the final 22 seconds, said, "We spend a big part of practice every day on free throws. Coach puts us under pressure in practice just for situations like this."
His coach, Roy Sembach, had high praise for the 6-foot-3 senior forward.
"Besides the free throws, Eric stepped up defensively when Hutch [Marty Hutchinson] fouled out," Sembach said. "He also had a couple big steals, made a couple buckets and made some nice passes. I like the way he took over the game in the final four minutes."
Quick lead: Champion had been in control, opening up a 23-15 lead at halftime. But the Flashes have been here before, losing at Liberty Tuesday after holding a 12-point halftime lead.
"We've told the kids again and again, you have to win the first four minutes of the second half," Champion coach Jeff Rasile said. "If you get up 15 or 12 points, it puts all the pressure on them."
Instead, the Tigers, who shot just 1-of-10 in the second quarter, came out hot in the second half and John Sekora's three-point play at the 3:56 mark tied the game at 27. From that point, the largest lead in the game was four.
Champion led 36-32 with eight seconds remaining in the third quarter after Josh Ozanich made four straight free throws, two for a personal foul and two for a technical foul.
The Tigers' biggest lead was 45-41 with 3:14 remaining in the game after Alex Cooper, who had missed three free throws earlier, sank a pair from the line.
About 30 seconds earlier, Cooper took a charge on Champion's high-scoring forward Mark Kish, the fifth foul on Kish, who scored just four points.
Newton Falls lost two starters to fouls, including senior post man Hutchinson, who guarded Kish most of the time.
Keeping it close: Champion guard Kevin Stingel, who led all scorers with 17 points including 11 from the line, made two foul shots at the 2:35 mark, then scored with 1:24 remaining on a reverse layup off a baseline drive. That tied the game at 45.
Mike Wortman scored for Champion with 34 seconds left, then Lance made his first two free throws at the 22-second mark.
After a timeout, the Flashes (2-3, 0-2) easily broke the Tigers' pressure, but Seth Terlecky missed a layup and fouled Lance who had grabbed the rebound.
Lance made both shots with 10.4 seconds left and Wortman missed on Champion's final shot.
"Those last few possessions, we just wanted to get the ball out of Stingel's hands," Sembach said. "With Kish out, we wanted someone else on their team to prove they could make a big shot."
The Tigers (4-0, 2-0) have held all their opponents below 50 points. But Sembach says he's not happy with the offense.
"We've been missing good shots, rushing shots, taking bad shots. But if you play good defense, you still have a chance to win. We feel great to escape with a victory tonight, because we certainly didn't outplay them."
John Sekora backed Stanley with 13 points and Hutchinson contributed eight points. Lance led the way with seven rebounds and Sekora made three steals.
Stingel had a good overall game with six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Craig Allen was Champion's leading rebounder with nine.
"Newton Falls is an outstanding team," Rasile said. "But I think we should have won."