INTER-COUNTY LEAGUE Rockets creep past Tigers
Springfield began the night tied for the ICL lead.
LOWELLVILLE -- Lowellville High threw a surprise into the Inter-County League boys basketball race Friday night, as the Rockets upset visiting Springfield, 39-37.
Justin Smith made a pair of free throws with two seconds remaining to provide the winning points.
Vince Broll scored 15 points for Lowellville (10-7, 5-4 ICL), which battled back from a 12-3 first quarter deficit. The Rockets got back to within 19-16 at halftime, then outscored Springfield 12-8 in the third period for a 28-27 lead.
Broll also had nine rebounds, while Ed Barone added seven points and six rebounds for Lowellville. John Wilaj scored seven points, and Smith had seven rebounds.
Springfield (10-4, 6-2), which began the night tied with McDonald for the ICL lead, got 14 points and 10 rebounds from Zack DeJane. Aaron Wood added nine points for the Tigers, while Andrew Schuler had eight rebounds.
Mineral Ridge 44,Western Reserve 35
MINERAL RIDGE -- Nick Diana and Vance Kiersey scored 10 points each for Mineral Ridge.
John Hack added 10 rebounds and Wade Campbell had four assists for the Rams (8-8, 4-4 ICL), who led 21-17 at halftime.
Dave Ferrando scored 12 points to lead Western Reserve (6-9, 4-4).
McDonald 65, South Range 46
McDONALD -- James Beedle scored 23 points to lead McDonald.
Beedle also had six assists, and Tyler Stanley added 18 points for the Blue Devils (13-2, 7-1 ICL), who led only 28-26 at halftime, but outscored South Range 37-20 in the second half.
David Rach scored 14 points for the Raiders (4-8, 1-6), while David Maxwell scored 11 and Brian Crawford finished with 10.
Lisbon 53, Crestview 44
NEW WATERFORD -- Marcus Judy went 8-for-10 at the foul line and finished with 20 points for Lisbon.
The Blue Devils (11-4, 7-3 Tri-County League) were 15-for-21 on free throws as a team. Steve Tsilimos added 13 points for Lisbon, while Dom Defilippo had 16 rebounds. Judy also had nine assists, and Josh Grafton had three steals.
Crestview (3-13, 2-8) was led by Anthony Amabile, with 13 points, and Jerry Einseidel, with 11. Andy Walton had seven rebounds.
Columbiana 49, Southern 46
SALINEVILLE -- Eric Ostrander scored 15 points to lead Columbiana.
The Clippers (10-5, 7-3 TCL) took control with a 16-6 edge in the third quarter, giving them a 32-30 lead.
Ostrander also had nine rebounds and four steals. Dave Vitko added 11 points and four steals, and Billy Couchenour had three assists. Jared Patton scored nine points.
Aaron Blatch scored 11 points and had eight rebounds for Southern (8-8, 4-6), while David Earich had 10 points and seven rebounds. Leading scorer Josh Diaz was held to five points.
Sebring 77, Leetonia 42
LEETONIA -- Joe James poured in 24 points to keep Sebring unbeaten in the TCL.
Matt Ferguson added 14 points for the Trojans (14-1, 10-0), while Dan Scarpitti scored 13, Joe Amabeli 12 and Jesse James 11.
Jon Williams led Leetonia (2-13, 0-10) with 10 points.
United 58, East Palestine 47
HANOVERTON -- Bubba Taylor had team-highs of 15 points and eight rebounds to lead United to its 10th win.
Tyler Boyle and Jake Roelen scored 14 points each for the Golden Eagles (10-4, 7-3 TCL), who visit Sebring on Tuesday.
Brett Young of East Palestine (3-13, 3-7) led all scorers with 32 points. He was 10-of-12 at the foul line and made two 3-pointers.