TRI-COUNTY LEAGUE E. Palestine scraps way past Leetonia

The Bulldogs had to rally in the final period for a 61-47 victory.
By JOHN BUTERA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
LEETONIA -- Chad Jones scored 32 points to lead a powerful East Palestine inside game as the Bulldogs rallied past Leetonia 61-47 in a Tri-County League boys basketball game Friday at Leetonia High School.
"They're scrappy, just like us," East Palestine coach Jeff Berger said. "And coming in, we knew it wouldn't be easy. We were able to execute our offense and our guards took care of the ball."
Leetonia took a 5-4 lead in the early going, but East Palestine (2-2, 2-0) answered with an 8-0 run to take control.
By the end of the quarter, the Bulldogs -- who hit five of their last seven shots -- held a 16-12 lead as the teams combined for nine baskets, including five 3-pointers.
Bulldogs lead at halftime
Leetonia (0-4, 0-2) cut the margin to 19-14, but then Jones began to assert himself. He scored his 10th point of the game midway through the second quarter as East Palestine took a 24-14 lead.
Leetonia's Freddie Gray pulled his team closer at 24-18, but Jones answered with two baskets as East Palestine took a 28-18 halftime lead.
"I told the kids at halftime, just keep getting him the ball and let him do what he does," Berger said of Jones, who scored 18 of his 32 points in the second half. "When you have someone like Chad Jones, you just get him the ball."
Gray keeps Bears close
But Gray kept the Bears close, scoring 11 third-quarter points as Leetonia whittled away at the lead and trailed just 38-35 entering the fourth quarter. He scored eight of those points in the final three and a half minutes, including a basket with two seconds left in the period.
Gray hit a free throw to cut the Bears' deficit to 40-38 early in the final quarter, but East Palestine scored nine straight points and Leetonia never recovered.
Jones grabbed 11 of the Bulldogs' 28 rebounds and teammate Adam Harvey added eight rebounds.
"We cut down on our turnovers tonight and that was important," Jones said. "Now that we're 2-0, that's also a big plus for us.
"We've just been getting the ball to whoever's been hitting and we've been very unselfish."
Brandon Lewis added 11 points and Brett Young had eight assists for East Palestine.
Gray finished with 18 points to lead Leetonia. Drew Mason added 11.