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Chiclowe, defense carry Lowellville past Columbiana
By steve wilaj
lowellville
With postseason play around the corner, Lowellville coach Vince Nittoli has been stressing defense to his fast-paced Rockets team. On Tuesday against Columbiana, Lowellville certainly played solid defense — and needed every bit of it.
Paced by a strong defensive effort and a career performance from Jon Chiclowe, the Rockets downed the Clippers, 57-52, at Lowellville High School. Chiclowe, the Rockets’ junior sixth-man guard, poured in 21 points on an otherwise off-night offensively for Lowellville (15-5).
“I’ve been trying to get my guys to get more aggressive on defense,” Nittoli said. “We were denying all over the floor and using our athleticism to our advantage.”
Added Chiclowe: “I just had a good shooting night. But it was all about defense. Our offense was lacking tonight, so we came out and played a good defensive game and rebounded the basketball.”
Tyler Barone added 15 points for Lowellville, while Vince Hensperger also scored 11 against a Columbiana team that tried to slow down the contest.
The Clippers (7-14) were fairly successful in doing so, but — other than a career-high 25 points from Jared Wilson and Burdette Baker’s 18 points and 11 rebounds — their offense struggled at times.
“We had some turnovers at crucial times and also, at the end of the first half, they went on a little 6-0 run,” said Columbiana coach Wes Cross, whose team committed 18 turnovers. “[Lowellville] was relentless on the boards and we didn’t shoot free throws great tonight.”
Lowellville led 26-20 at halftime and entered the fourth quarter with a 41-34 lead, but Columbiana cut its deficit to three points early in the final period. However, the Rockets pushed their lead back to 52-44 at the 1:35 mark, as their lead never was in any real danger.
Lowellville shot just 15 of 30 from the foul line, but Chiclowe’s output — which included three 3-pointers — was enough to carry the offense.
“Jonny’s been our spark off the bench,” Nittoli said. “The last six games he was averaging almost 10 points off the bench. So tonight he was the hot hand and we kept feeding him and he carried us for the majority of the game.”
The same goes for Wilson for Columbiana. He went 9 of 13 from the field and made two 3-pointers.
“Offensively, he played real aggressive and just had a great overall game,” Cross said. “We need contributions from everybody to beat a quality team. We need balance and I’m looking for more balance.
“Tonight we really just had two people offensively, but we have other people that are capable.”
The Clippers have one more regular-season game on Friday against Leetonia. They will then meet South Range in the first round of the Division IV tournament.
“We just have to get better from here,” Cross said. “We’re real close. We definitely have some talent here. We just need something positive to happen, get a win and then build off that.”
The Rockets — who also received six points and 12 rebounds from Cole Beatty — have a first-round bye in the Division IV tournament and will play the winner of Southern and Leetonia.
“I feel like we’re on the right track,” Nittoli said. “We’re senior-heavy, so my guys are definitely focused and confident. They know what they want to end the year on, so I think we’re on the right track.”