South Range boys edge Bristol in Hope Classic
By Greg Gulas
STRUTHERS
A successful homecoming, a nail biter and two blow-out wins highlighted action at the fourth annual Hope Classic High School Basketball Showcase, held Saturday at the Struthers Field House.
Former Youngstown State women’s basketball standout Kristi Echelberry-McKenney’s Milford Eagles topped the Austintown Fitch Falcons 57-41 in the opening game of the day while the South Range Raiders ran away from the host Struthers Wildcats, 60-28 in the other girls contest.
On the boys side of the ledger, South Range overcame a 24-16 halftime deficit to hold on for a 57-55 victory over the Bristol Panthers in the evening’s closest contest while the Lisbon Blue Devils raced to a 21-point halftime lead en-route to an 87-54 victory over the host Wildcats.
The Eagles (6-2) made it a happy homecoming for Echelberry-McKenney, winning twice this weekend after posting a 49-34 victory over the Girard Indians on Friday.
Kelly Noll had a team-high 16 points, including four of her team’s five triples as they held the Falcons (3-2) to single-digit scoring and just 23 points through the first fames.
“We’ve had an unbelievable time and my team will only grow from this experience. It feels like I have been here for over a week and it’s only been two nights. It was great to see my YSU coach, Ed DiGregorio and so many others who have meant so much to me over the years,” an emotional Echelbery-McKenney said. “It was fun to come back to Youngstown and play in a tournament for such a great cause.”
Falcons head coach Stacie Cepin echoed her opponents’ remarks.
“You can only get better if you play good competition and Milford is an excellent team with an excellent coach in Kristi,” Cepin said. “The foundation’s cause is one of which I am most passionate so a good game and an excellent cause made it a fun night for everyone.”
In the second game, the Wildcats (4-2) trailed just 24-23 at intermission but a stingy Raiders defense held Struthers to just five second-half points, outscoring their All-American Conference foe 36-5 to remain undefeated.
Maddie Durkin nearly outscored the Wildcats all by herself, hooping a game-high 26 points; Morgan Czopur added 15 markers and Lynnie Ritter keyed the defense for South Range (7-0) after the halftime break.
“We came into the game thinking that we would need to slow the game down and step up our defense, which we did,” Ritter said. “We played a great defensive game and had excellent ball movement offensively.”
In boys action, Preston Stitt scored 10 of his 16 points in the final quarter, including two buckets from beyond the arc to lead the Raiders (4-1) to a 57-55 win over the Bristol Panthers (3-1).
“We were trailing by seven points, 39-32 heading into the fourth quarter so we were looking to make a run in order to get back into the game,” Stitt said. “We then went on a 17-2 run to take a 49-41 lead and that was got us back into the game.”
In the nightcap, Austin Rutecki scored 29 points, Josh Liberati (16), Josh Craig (12) and Avery Andric (12) also scored in double figures to pace Lisbon (4-0) to a 33-point victory over the Wildcats (1-4).
“We thought that they would pressure us a little more, but they didn’t so we were able to hit some big shots early and kept the game up-tempo,” Rutecki said. “We also played smart, solid defense.”