Rockets, Devils advance

By Greg Gulas

sports@vindy.com

STRUTHERS

Anthony Alfano and Dean Donatelli each scored 18 points on Monday as the Lowellville High boys basketball team defeated Western Reserve, 62-36, in Division IV sectional semifinal action at the Struthers Field House.

The Rockets closed the game with a 27-9 run. They next will meet the winner of tonight’s game between Sebring and Columbiana on Friday for the sectional title.

In the opening game, Zach Rovnak scored 22 points and Zac Barnes added 20 markers as Lisbon thumped Heartland Christian, 55-34. The Blue Devils advance to Friday’s game against top-seeded McDonald.

The Rockets (12-8) started the season 10-3, but limped into tournament play with a three-game losing streak while dropping five of their final six regular season contests.

Coach Mike Mangine reminded his team that they needed to regain their focus.

“We played our first 10 games in 60 days and our last 10 games in 20 days and through nagging injuries, the flu bug and a few other things, it simply caught up with us,” Mangine said.

Donatelli scored eight of his 18 points in the opening period as the Rockets built a 22-12 margin.

With Alfano adding seven points in the second stanza, Lowellville was able to build a 35-20 halftime advantage.

“We haven’t played well the final five or six games so this win will definitely give our confidence a boost,” Alfano said.

Lisbon’s Rovnak and Barnes combined for 42 of their team’s 55 points, avenging a 54-51 setback on Dec. 29.

“It took us 21 games, but we finally put together a consistent four quarters of basketball at both ends of the court,” Lisbon coach Chris Huckshold said. “I’m really happy for our kids and we’re looking forward to the challenge of meeting the #1 seed, McDonald on Friday night.”

The Lisbon defense held the Lions to just four first half buckets and with Barnes and Rovnak scoring 10 and eight points respectively, raced to a 27-12 lead at the intermission.

Rovnak and Barnes did all of the scoring for the Blue Devils in the third quarter as Lisbon made it 37-27 with just eight minutes remaining.

Nine points by Rovnak then keyed an 18-7 run by Lisbon in the final period to solidify their 21-point victory.

It was the second straight win for the Blue Devils while Heartland Christian closed the season with five consecutive setbacks.

“Coach [Todd] Johnson was my junior varsity coach and he works really hard with his team,” Huckshold said. “He definitely has Heartland Christian pointed in the right direction.”