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Tamarkin leads Howland past East
Tamarkin leads with 19 points
YOUNGSTOWN
In the universe of high scorers, Howland’s Connor Tamarkin is out of this world, but Frankie Manios played a more down-to-Earth role in the Tigers’ 65-54 win on Tuesday at East High School.
Manios was the intermediary in a key part of the game when Howland’s 43-41 lead was widened as the third quarter came to a close.
After Tyrell Davis made two free throws to pull East within 43-41, Jonah Weisman made two of his seven points on a layup with Manios’ assistance.
“Connor [Tamarkin] passed it to me, then I pump-faked down the lane and then I saw Jonah [Weisman] open and hit him [with a pass] on a cut for the layup,” said Manios, a junior who plays a decent amount of time when Howland inserts its first-rotation players.
Tamarkin had a game-high 19 points, followed by Samari Dean with 16 and Nathan Barrett’s 12. Tamarkin also had five assists.
On the floor, East was persistent, but not consistent enough to reign in Howland (8-4, 4-2 All-Athletic Conference Red Tier) once the visitors found their rhythm.
Howland connected on 18 of 38 two-point goals, while East made 18 of 43. The Tigers were 5 of 14 from 3-point range to East’s 2 of 14.
When East missed its goals, Howland usually regained possession. Barrett grabbed nine of Howland’s 34 rebounds, while Larry Ransom had 12 of the home team’s 28 rebounds.
As did Shannon Dubose and Ransom, Davis scored 12 points and Davis also dished out six assists for East (4-6).
Howland coach Dan Bubon said that Tamarkin’s 19 points are normal.
“He’s a three-year starter at guard and I think he’s the best point-guard in the area,” Bubon said. “If you looked at him walking onto the court, you’d never expect him to have had the game he had. He controls every game we’re in.
“Any coach would take a great point guard over anything else, I think.”
Shooting guard Frank Rappach had only four free throws, but Bubon said it’s because East wasn’t going to let Rappach do the damage he did in Howland’s 70-66 win over East on Dec. 12.
“The first time against these guys he had 26 points,” Bubon said. “Tonight, they made sure they didn’t lose him. Last time, they tried to trap a little more and they lost Frank and he’s a really good shooter, so he shot well that night.
“But he’s smart enough not to force stuff and, when they do that, so he finds the other guys.”
Bubon didn’t forget to mention Barrett.
“He’s so solid,” the coach said of the 12 points and nine rebounds for Barrett, usually a double-double player. “He gives us something we don’t have. He can go up and out-rebound other guys and we haven’t had that in a year-and-a-half.”
Dean’s tenacity didn’t go unnoticed.
“He’s going to be a college football player and he’s tough as can be and he played under control tonight,” Bubon said. “When he gets in trouble, he’ll start playing out of control a little bit, but he was under control tonight.”
Maybe because of its 17-9 lead after one quarter, East didn’t press until the second quarter when Howland started closing the gap.
Then, the Golden Bears defended with both three-quarter and full-court presses.