Lacefield, Seaver lead S. Range past Lisbon

By Tom Williams

YOUNGSTOWN — With dreams of challenging defending champion East Palestine for the Inter Tri-County League Tier One crown, the South Range High boys basketball team had to fight off a pesky Lisbon squad on Saturday to remain a game behind in the chase.

Sophomore Andy Lacefield scored 15 points while senior Kyle Seaver scored 10 points and made four rebounds as the Raiders (8-4, 6-1) held off the Blue Devils (4-8, 1-6), 52-43, at the Covelli Centre. The game capped a tripleheader in the 2010 Lariccia Family High School Basketball Series.

“The thing about Lisbon, every game they play they’re in the game and battling,” South Range coach Dave Purins said. “Their record doesn’t show how good of a team they are.”

Midway through the second quarter, the Raiders surged to a 20-14 lead propelled by baskets by Lacefield, Seaver and Peter Dinh. The Blue Devils sliced the lead to one with baskets by Matt Metzgar and Patrick Gresh plus free throws by Drew Sweeney.

In the middle of the third quarter, the Raiders seized control with a 10-0 run for a 35-26 lead.

“Most importantly, we picked up our defensive intensity,” Purins said of the surge. “We challenged their shots and limited them to one shot. And that enabled us to get our transition going.”

In the final two minutes, the Blue Devils made a late run, scoring six straight points to cut South Range’s lead to 47-41. Free throws by Lacefield and Seaver sealed the victory.

“He’s been stepping up for us lately and scoring a lot of points,” Seaver said of Lacefield.

Seaver called the win “pretty big,” saying the Raiders are motivated to try and improve on their 6-1 league mark in the first half. “We want to prove that we can [do it again] and maybe this time knock off East Palestine to win [a share].”

Playing on a winning team has seniors Seaver, Dinh and Travis Landis appreciative.

“Every [other] year, we’ve been pretty bad,” Seaver said. “This year, we want to win the league and we’ve got a good team to do it.”

Seniors Todd Padurean and William Bowyer led the Blue Devils in scoring with 12 points apiece. Purins called the win “a great start to the second half, the second go around the league. The ITCL is a very competitive league, obviously.

“Right now, our kids are playing hard and practicing hard, and they are playing well together,” Purins said.

williams@vindy.com