Lordstown, Badger eliminated in Div. IV action

Ashtabula Sts. John & Paul and Fairport Harbor had opening round wins.

By JIM FLICK

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

WARREN — Ashtabula Sts. John & Paul and Fairport Harbor came south and soundly defeated Trumbull County teams in the first round of the Division IV tournament Wednesday night at Warren G. Harding High School.

Tied after three quarters, Ashtabula Sts. John & Paul rallied in the final period to defeat Lordstown 70-57. In the night's first game, Fairport Harbor recovered from a shaky first quarter to beat Badger 66-57.

Ashtabula Sts. John & Paul and Fairport Harbor are now set to square off at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Ashtabula Sts. John & Paul was paced by 6-5 center Keith Berrier, who scored 20 points against Lordstown, grabbed 15 rebounds, and blocked several shots.

Berrier “didn't play well in the first half,” said Ashtabula Sts. John & Paul coach Tom Penna. “He was being lazy.”

Penna said he took Berrier to task in the locker room at halftime, and Berrier emerged as a force in the second half. “In the second half, we got him the ball and he scored.”

Berrier admitted after the game he didn't play well in the first half. “I wasn't into it,” he said, largely because he felt drained by a cold he suffered in the days before the game.

But as a result of his coach's halftime urgings, Berrier said he came out of the locker room ready to play hard in the second half. “Once I got into the game, things opened up,” he added.

Lordstown came ready to play from the outset, outscoring Ashtabula Sts. John & Paul 17-14 in the first quarter. The Red Devils held a 25-22 lead as halftime approached, but Ashtabula Sts. John & Paul's Jake Phelps hit a 3-point shot as the clock expired in the first half to give his team a 27-25 lead at halftime.

Lordstown continued to battle hard in the third quarter, and tied the score at 44 at the end of three quarters.

But Ashtabula Sts. John & Paul exploded in the fourth quarter, led by Berrier, and outscored Lordstown 26-13 in the final period.

Lordstown was led by Scott Chaffer, who hit six 3-point shots and totaled 20 points. Jacob DiEugenio added 14 points for Lordstown.

In the night's first game, Badger used a multi-faceted attack to burst out to a 15-9 lead over Fairport Harbor. Five players scored for Badger in the first quarter, and a sixth scored the first field goal of the second quarter.

But Fairport Harbor seemed to wake up in the second quarter, out-scoring Badger 17-8 to take a 26-23 at halftime.

The Skippers continued to steadily build a lead in the second half. Fairport Harbor earned 20-17 leads in both the third and fourth quarters.

Badger was led by Brad Bates, who tallied 19 points, and included five 3-pointers in his seven field goals. Jeff Ashcroft contributed 12 points to the Braves' efforts, and Marcus Heath added 11 points.

Fairport Harbor was keyed by the efforts of point guard Aramis Greenwood, who ran his team's offense and scored 19 points. The Skippers' scoring leader was Mark Burchett, who scored 20 points, while Danny Ward added 15 points.

Fairport Harbor coach Steve Rayl blamed his team's slow start on the hour-long bus ride that brought the squad to Warren.

Rayl added that his squad had made a huge improvement from last year's team, which finished with a 5-17 record. “The difference between this year and last year is that this year we make the key shots when we need to make them.”