JOHN KOVACH | colleges Former Boardman star top scorer for Thiel

GREENVILLE, Pa. -- If A.H. Davis of Boardman can continue his point-making pace for the Thiel College basketball team as a senior next season, he has an excellent chance to break the school's career scoring record.
"I think he will," said Kevin Fenstermacher, Thiel's sports information director. "Just from some of the people I talked to, they said he had a good shot at it."
Davis, one of four family members to play basketball at Boardman High, averaged a team-best 17.1 points in 26 games this season for Thiel, to give him a three-year total of 1,151 points.
The 6-foot-6 forward (his complete name is Alfred Henry Davis III) needs 457 points as a senior to surpass the current record-holder, Tom Harp, who amassed 1,607 points from 1981-85.
Rebounds: And although Davis also led the Tomcats in rebounding his season with a 6.4 average, and has 411 career rebounds, he appears to be out of range of the school record of 1,019 rebounds set by Mark Fleischer from 1970-74.
Davis was rewarded for his play this season by being selected to the All-Presidents' Athletic Conference first team.
He credits a lot of his success to "mostly my teammates. They got the ball into me a lot and made it easier for me to score," said Davis, who can jump high and scored most of his points from the inside.
Four of his teammates -- Erik Hemsing, Justin Townsend, Durrell Hackett and Shane Manley -- all are from the Youngstown area, which Davis likes.
"It helps [to create] some friendships. Everyone gets along. [We have a] common interest," he said.
But his biggest improvement this season was in rebounding by "just working on better positioning [and] aggressiveness," said Davis, who also averaged 1.3 steals.
Goal is doctor: The son of Buffy and Fred Davis, A.H. is majoring in biology and pre-medicine with a 3.0 grade-point average, and would like to become a doctor.
His father, who operates Davis Funeral Home, was a standout for the Boardman team under coach Al Burns. Fred later went on to play for the Adrian College basketball team, and is a member of that school's hall of fame.
A.H.'s two brothers, Kyle and Jay, also played basketball for Boardman High. Kyle graduated last year while Jay was a sophomore member of the team this season.
Key seniors: A.H. has played his final season with Hemsing and Manley, both seniors who were key players on the team.
Hemsing, a 6-1 senior guard and starter from Kennedy Catholic, established a Thiel record for career 3-point goals with 183. He had a team-best 60 this season while averaging 11.7 points and 2.7 rebounds, and made the All-PAC second team.
Manley, a 6-1 senior guard from East Palestine High, ranked No. 2 behind Hemsing in 3-point goals this season with 37. Manley, coming off the bench, averaged 7.2 points and 2.5 rebounds.
Trio returning: But rejoining Davis next season will be Townsend, a 6-0 sophomore and starting point guard from Brookfield High; and Hackett, a 6-3 junior forward from Rayen and part-time starter who generally was considered the No. 6 man.
Manley averaged 4.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists, while Hackett averaged 7.8 points and 4.2 rebounds.
Thiel posted an 11-15 record, including 5-3 in the PAC under coach Karel Jelinek.
Women's team: In women's basketball at Thiel, five area players were on the roster, but two of them, senior Nikki Willrich (Girard) and freshman Laura Fahey (Boardman), were sidelined by injury and illness, respectively.
Willrich, a 5-6 guard, missed her entire senior season after having knee surgery prior to the start of the campaign.
Fahey, a 5-9 forward, lost out on much of her first season because of illness. She played in 14 games with one start before being shelved.
But the other three players -- Monica Smith (Rayen School), Adrienne Mowry (Struthers) and Elizabeth Payne (Neshannock) -- all got playing time and made contributions.
Smith, a 5-7 junior guard, averaged 2.7 points and 3.0 rebounds while playing in 27 games with three starts.
Mowry, a 6-1 freshman center, averaged 2.2 points and 2.4 rebounds in 17 games.
Payne, a 6-1 junior center, averaged 1.5 points and 1.6 rebounds in 24 games with three starts.
The Tomcats compiled a 14-13 record, including 4-4 in the PAC, under coach Gloria Pacsi of Farrell, in her 13th season as coach.