DIVISION III BOYS Warren JFK eliminates Newton Falls

Sophomores Colin Clemente and Adam Snyder had big games for the Eagles.
By CHUCK HOUSTEAU
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
HUBBARD -- In the regular season, Warren Kennedy didn't have much success against Trumbull Athletic Conference teams.
In the postseason, it's been a different story.
The Eagles knocked out a TAC school for the second time Tuesday night, beating Newton Falls 58-54 in a Division III district semifinal at Hubbard High School.
Kennedy, which beat Champion in the sectional final, will play second-seeded Badger in Friday's district final.
The Eagles (13-10) lost to all three of those teams during the regular season.
Payback: "These have all been payback games," Kennedy coach John Condoleon said. "We're a lot different team now than we were at the beginning of the season. We have a lot of sophomores right now that grew and matured. They're playing real well for us."
Two of those sophomores, Colin Clemente and Adam Snyder, had big games for the Eagles.
Snyder scored 12 points, while Clemente, a 5-foot-7 guard, scored a game-high 17 points and knocked down three free throws after being fouled at the buzzer ending the third quarter.
Those free throws turned a 36-34 Kennedy deficit into a 37-36 lead.
"Those were huge," Condoleon said. "I thought that was one of the turning points of the second half."
That momentum helped Kennedy play an outstanding stretch of basketball in the fourth quarter.
The Eagles outscored Newton Falls 11-2 during a four-minute stretch to give JFK a 50-41 lead. JFK then put the ball in the hands of their talented guards, Clemente, Chris Macali (9 points) and Keith Black (13 points) who knocked down shots and free throws in the final minutes to put away the Tigers.
Key quarter: Kennedy connected on all five field goals and made 10-of-15 foul shots in the fourth quarter.
"They did what you're supposed to do when you have the lead in the fourth quarter," said Tiger coach Roy Sembach. "Any team with a lead down the stretch has to make foul shots."
Sembach was disappointed with the way his team played.
"Overall, I was not happy with our performance," Sembach said. "We didn't practice very well [Monday] and it carried over.
"It's a tough pill to swallow and a tough lesson to learn. What's frustrating is this tournament was for anyone to win. We had as good a chance as anybody and I was disappointed with our effort."
Sembach is excited about the talent that the Tigers (16-6) return next year, he said.
For Newton Falls, Jon Sekora led all scorers with 15 points, while Marty Hutchinson had 13 and Jeff Stanley added 10.