Clutch foul shooting leads Leetonia win

The Bears made five of six in the final minute to beat Lowellville 56-50.
By John Butera
Vindicator Correspondent
LEETONIA -- Clutch foul shooting by Leetonia and costly turnovers by Lowellville proved to be the difference late in Tuesday's game as the Bears edged the Rockets 56-50.
"These kids were still thinking about Christmas," said Lowellville coach Mike Mangine. "And that's right where they were -- back in Lowellville thinking about Christmas. It's that simple."
Despite their festive manner, Lowellville, thanks to a Mario Nero 3-pointer at 1:44 actually led 48-47 before Leetonia regained the edge 49-48 at 1:28. Lowellville then turned the ball over on three of its next four possessions as Leetonia went 5 of 6 from the line.
Leading the Bears
Freshman Josh Selway, who had four of those free throws, scored eight of his 14 points in the last quarter. Leetonia (4-4) benefited from a balanced attack featuring Jon Williams with 15 points and Corey Rauschenbach 12.
"I told the kids Leetonia was ready for the kill," added Mangine. "But I kept telling them we were in a position to still win. I told them that before the game, at halftime and even when there were 40 seconds left.
"These kids just weren't ready to play ball tonight. I had one kid throwing passes he shouldn't have and another kid who missed about 32 layups. And that's nothing negative toward Leetonia. They came out and got us."
With Leetonia finishing the first quarter on a 10-0 run (led by seven points from Williams), the Bears took a 20-10 lead into the second quarter. They didn't commit a foul until 6:34 of the quarter.
Then Lowellville found its range, going 7 of 14 in the quarter with just one turnover. Rocky Nolfi scored 10 of his game-high 20 points in that quarter to cut the deficit to one, 29-28, at halftime.
The third quarter featured much of what was giving Mangine a heartache. The Rockets had eight turnovers in 16 possessions but Leetonia still only had a 41-38 lead after three.
Barone sparks Rockets
Barone scored seven of hits 14 points in the fourth quarter for Lowellville (3-3).
"This is the first win we've had against a team with a winning record. We've been so close to getting over the hump and we really needed just one big win," said Leetonia coach Jay Airhart. "This is without question the biggest win since I've been here and maybe a lot longer.
"Now we're off until January 6th so we've got some time to work on some things."
Williams, who was 5 of 5 from the line, finished with nine rebounds and five steals.
"We've got a long break so it's good we got this win," Williams said. "I thought we were in good shape when we went out by 10 but they came right back.
"Fortunately, we were able to finish up [well]."