Leetonia avenges past beatings to Clippers

Seniors Jon Williams, Corey Raushenbach and Aaron Valentine led the way.
By ERIC HAMILTON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
COLUMBIANA -- Four years ago when Jay Airhart took over the Leetonia High boys basketball program, he had no idea what he had gotten himself into.
Leetonia went 3-39 during his first two seasons and Airhart found himself wondering if he had made a mistake taking the job. Getting beat by 60 points all the time will do that to a young coach.
Fast forward to Tuesday night. The Bears went to Columbiana to try to do something no Leetonia team has done in recent memory -- secure victories over Lisbon, Crestview and the Clippers all in the same season.
With seniors Jon Williams, Corey Raushenbach and Aaron Valentine leading the way, that milestone -- and the nightmare that used to be Leetonia basketball -- is history.
Leetonia led by as many as 21 points and outscored Columbiana 19-5 at the free throw line to claim at 58-50 win and serve notice that the Bears are no longer a pushover.
"We've exorcised some demons this season and have beaten our three biggest rivals now and that's a big thing for our community," said Airhart. "This was a big monkey off our back because we haven't beaten Columbiana since I've been here. I didn't have to get the kids fired up for this one.
"I remember my first year getting beat by 60 and 50 points. I wasn't sure if I was cut out to be a head coach. But we just drilled the fundamentals and changed our attitude from hoping to win to expecting to win. It was hard to stay through it all, but I'm glad I did. I finally feel like a Leetonia Bear."
Williams, who led Leetonia with 20 points and added five rebounds against the Clippers, was a freshman when Airhart took over. H
Game is fun
"Playing basketball is actually fun now," he said. "We come out wanting to play and expecting more of ourselves. We were embarrassing, but we've come a long way since then. It's exciting to see people in the stands cheering for us and to see the students coming, too. We can be a good ball team."
The Bears (4-1, 1-1 ITCL Tier 2) jumped on Columbiana early, building an 8-0 lead after the first four minutes. That margin held up in the opening quarter, as the Clippers struggled to score.
Leetonia was sparked in the second quarter by Jake McNally, a 6-5, 300-pound sophomore, who battered the Clippers inside. McNally scored nine of his 11 points in the first half to help the Bears build a commanding 31-15 lead at intermission.
The Bears led by as many as 21 in the third quarter (36-15). But Columbiana started finding its range and chipped away at the deficit.
Corey Guy, who led the Clippers with 15 points, got Columbiana within nine points (52-43) with a bucket at the 2:30 mark of the fourth quarter.
Plenty of opportunities
The Clippers had plenty of opportunities to close the gap and possibly the victory down the stretch, but a poor performance at the free throw line prevented that.
Columbiana (3-2, 2-0 ITCL Tier 1) shot just 3-of-11 from the stripe in the final 3 minutes of the contest and finished 5-of-15. Leetonia converted 19-of-29 chances to make up for five fewer made field goals.
"We really had the offensive balance we'd been lacking the last few games," said Airhart. "We got that big lead and we kind of lost our focus and they kept coming at us. But we picked it up at the end and hit some free throws.
"I'll take even a one-point win against them. I appreciate the wins we get because we know what it's like to be on the other side. This is the most energized we've played so far. The kids are just a joy to coach and are working hard."