NEW MIDDLETOWN Tigers strong early in victory over E.P.

David Rispinto led Springfield in the first half with 11 points.
By JOHN BUTERA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NEW MIDDLETOWN -- It's the season of giving and the Springfield High boys basketball team enjoyed doing that Friday night.
But instead of giving East Palestine gifts, Springfield gave the Bulldogs fits.
Behind a 3-point shooting barrage, and an impressive overall floor effort, Springfield scored a wire-to-wire 71-43 victory on its home floor.
The Tigers (4-1) took a 23-9 lead after the first quarter and coasted the rest of the way.
"It's the same mistakes we've been making all year," East Palestine coach Jeff Berger said.
"For some reason, we keep coming out early with a sloppy style of play, and I keep stressing that you have to get out of the gate better than we have been.
"That is especially true against Springfield, who is one of the best teams around in the first three or four minutes of the game."
With four 3-pointers in the first quarter, Springfield asserted itself, thanks to poor early shooting from the Bulldogs and several early first-quarter turnovers.
Springfield sealed the verdict with a 15-2 run en route to an impressive 8-of-15 shooting effort during the initial period.
Additionally, the Tigers committed just one turnover in those eight minutes.
The Bulldogs stayed in range. Behind baskets from Adam Harvey and Brett Young, they trailed 30-18 late in the first half.
Pulling away
East Palestine went the final 3:06 of the half without scoring, however, while Springfield increased its margin to 35-18, thanks mainly to David Rispinto's 3-pointer in the waning seconds of the half.
Rispinto, who scored all 11 of his points in the first half, drew praise from coach Jeff Brink, who said, "I think we got a real strong effort from him, especially early. He's been sharing the ball most of the season and tonight we asked him to shoot a little more."
Springfield basically put the game away by 4:27 of the third quarter when Jeff Decenso connected on a 3-pointer to give the Tigers a 45-21 advantage.
In all, Springfield made 11 3-pointers, including five from Jon Vivo, who scored 15 points.
Dan Schuler scored a game-high 18 points for the Tigers.
Young led East Palestine with 13 points, while Chad Jones added 12.