MERCER COUNTY —  

Don Fee was a pretty nervous man Thursday evening for a coach with a 21-point lead at halftime.

The veteran Grove City High basketballcoach warned his charges to not let up on throttle despite leading Region 6-AAA rival Farrell 41-20 after 16 minutes of play.

Fee’s warning apparently went unheeded as the Steelers (4-8, 7-11) roared back to pull within 10 midway through the third quarter, but the Eagles (9-3, 14-4) held on for a 70-56 victory at The Eagles’ Nest.

 “I was nervous at halftime,” Fee said. “I told the guys ‘You cannot let our guard down. This game is not over. If they have anything in them and Farrell will, they’ll get energized if they throw a couple shots in. They can score a lot in a hurry. You better come to play in the second half.’ They threw a couple shots in and they were up on us in their man-to-man.”

The Farrell man-to-man coerced the Eagles into 14 second half turnovers after committing just two in the first half.

“I don’t know if the guys were really ready (for Farrell’s man-to-man),” Fee said. “It was a different mode (in the second half). All of a sudden, you’ve got a guy up in your shorts in the second half. We had a bunch of guys who didn’t get a lot of rest.”

Things couldn’t have gone better for the hosts over the game’s initial 16 minutes. Grove City moved the ball almost flawlessly in the first half and managed to beat Farrell’s 1-2-2 half-court trap for 15-of-35 shooting, including 8 three-pointers.

“We got so acclimated to their half-court trap in the first half and we executed perfectly in the first half,” Fee said. “We did a great job attacking their 1-2-2. We made them chase. We made extra passes. We got good looks and made shots. We couldn’t have executed much better.”

Senior sharpshooter Torin Smith led the charge offensively, scoring 17 of his game-high 32 points in the first half.

“My teammates just find me,” said Smith, who also pulled down 8 rebounds. “It’s not me going to find my own shot. Most of my points come from catching and shooting. My teammates are setting screens and finding me. They’re passing up their shots to get me open.”

The Eagles (9-3, 13-4) got a huge lift from sophomore Derek Turner off the bench. Turner — playing in place of the injured Foster Reznor — scored 8 points and pulled down 6 rebounds.

“Derek Turner did an outstanding job off the bench tonight,” Fee said. “We needed him. Donte got into a little bit of foul trouble early, so did Hall. Derek needed to play big minutes. He rebounded well. He boxed out and took care of the ball. We were in a dry spell offensively and came off a curl cut to get a bucket. That was a big basket for us.

“We told the JV guys there’s opportunities there (to play). Some of those guys need to step up, but Derek Turner is the only one who has. Danny Torok has the opportunity to step in and do some things …. Colby Polkabla, Mac Young and Jordan Dolan. We’re looking for good play during the JV game, so it can carry over into the varsity game. Hopefully, they’ll come to practice ready to work and see if they can get some minutes for themselves.”

The Eagles also got solid performances from their other starters.

Matt Thrasher knocked down a couple 3-pointers, finished with 12 points and pulled down 7 boards. Alex Hall had 6 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists and Alec Goodwin totaled 6 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds.

“Thrasher stepped up tonight,” Fee said. “We needed him to score. He got a big three right out of the gate. It was good to see. Alex Hall played outstanding — really the whole game — but particularly the first half. He showed himself in the middle. He was turning and finding guys. I don’t know how many assists he had tonight. He played one of his better games tonight. He did a great job on the boards and defensively. He really handled himself well. ‘AG’ did a good job of distributing the ball, penetrating and kicking. He did a great job as well.”

The Eagles enter a big stretch of their season by hosting Franklin (Tuesday) and Meadville (Friday) before heading to Hermitage for a showdown with Hickory next week. The Hornets (11-2, 13-5) currently lead Franklin (9-3, 15-3), Grove City (9-3, 14-4), Sharon (9-4, 11-6) and Meadville (8-4, 13-5) in the Region 6-AAA standings. Only four are likely to make the playoffs.

“It was big, especially to get another home win,” Smith said. “I think we’re undefeated here. We’ve got to lock down our home floor and steal a couple on the road. We’ve got two big games next week with Franklin and (Meadville). We’ve got to get those. We’ll see where we end up.”

Notes: Reznor has a possible Achilles’ Heel tear and will miss a minimum of a week. Patterson will be out for a couple more weeks at least, Fee said. … The Eagles improved to 9-0 at The Nest, but are just 5-4 away from home. … Grove City outrebounded Farrell, 48-31, but only forced 12 turnovers. … Dewayne Burns knocked down 5 treys off the bench to lead Farrell with 15, while Josh Jennings added 10 points.

BOYS BASKETBALL

ä Sharon 86, Slippery Rock 59 — At “The Rock Box” in Slippery Rock Saturday, the Tigers (9-4, 11-6) had 5 players score in double digits as they rolled past the Rockets (2-10, 4-13) in the Region 6-AAA clash.

’Dray Jefferson rifled in 22 points to lead the Tiger offense, Marlin Sanders bucketed 17, Darrell Stovall and Thomas Ripley both had 13 points and Khalil Hopson added 11 markers.

Ryan Thompson led the way for Slippery Rock with 13 points.

ä Sharpsville 65, Mercer 58 — At Sharpsville Friday, the Mustangs (0-6, 4-13) led 22-18 after 8 minutes of play, but the Blue Devils (3-3, 9-8) outscored Mercer 19-7 in the 2nd quarter to take a 37-29 lead into halftime and held on for the Region 2-AA victory.

Luke Vasconi tickled the twine for a season-high 19 points, Dallas Klenke sank 4 treys en route to 18 and Kevin Yarabinec added 11 markers for coach Jim Smiley’s Blue Devils.

Nate Guiler led the way for Mercer with 13 points and Logan Clarke contributed 11 markers.

ä Lakeview 61, Reynolds 26 — At Stoneboro Friday, coach Gary Burke’s Sailors moved to 6-0 in Region 2-AA and 14-4 overall with the rout of the Raiders (2-4, 9-8).

Lakeview led 27-8 after the opening quarter and cruised to the win.

Casey Greggs fired in 20 points to lead Lakeview while Coty Gander added 13. Also, Derek Giovengo and Dalton Boggs bucketed 11 points each.

Tanner Greenfield was the leading point-getter for Reynolds with 11.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

ä Mercer 54, Lakeview 34 — At Mercer Monday, the host Lady M’s moved to 4-5 in Region 2-AA and 6-13 overall with the 20-point win over the Lady Sailors (0-10, 1-17).

Megan McKinney fired in 21 points to pace Mercer, Alexis Mills sank a trio of treys en route to 11 points and Analise Whenry contributed 10 points.

Cassie Legal bucketed 11 points to lead Lakeview.

ä Grove City 39, Titusville 24 — At Grove City Monday, the host Lady Eagles eased to the Region 5-AAA win by outgunning Titusville from the free-throw line.

Grove City garnered half of its 26 attempts, while Titusville tallied jsut 6 of 16 from the sin stripe. Haley Hall hit for 12 points for Grove City (5-4, 13-6).

Carly Kriner conneted for 11 for Titusville (1-9, 4-15).

ä Grove City 51, Oil City 44 — At Oil City Thursday, the visiting Lady Eagles eased to a 41-36 edge entering the 4th frame, then held on for the Region 5-AAA road win.

Hailey Hall hit for 14 points for Grove City (4-4, 12-6), Corianne Hyduchak 12, and Vanessa Sprando scored 12.

Carlee Wenner went for a game-high 18 points and frosh Riley Davis drilled a dozen for Oil City (1-8, 4-14).



GIRLS BASKETBALL

LAKEVIEW    7    6    10    11    34

MERCER    11    7    19    17    54

LAKEVIEW — Legal 5-1-2-11, Custer 3-1-1-7, Stringer 2-5-5-9, Riddle 1-0-0-2, Sasse 1-0-0-2, McKean 1-0-0-2, Scott 0-1-2-1. Totals: 13-8-11-34.

MERCER — Fisher 2-0-0-4, Cook 1-0-0-3, Whenry 3-4-5-10, Ryder 2-0-0-5, Mills 3-2-2-11, McKinney 8-3-5-21. 3-pt. goals: Mills 3, Cook 1, Ryder 1. Totals: 19-9-12-54.

JV — No score reported.

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TITUSVILLE    3    5    6    14    28

GROVE CITY    7    9    11    12    39

TITUSVILLE — Scott 1-0-0-3, G. Champion 1-2-7-4, Kriner 4-2-4-11, F. Champion 2-0-0-5, Popham 1-1-3-4, Drusko 0-1-2-1. 3-pt. goals: Scott 1, Kriner 1, F. Champion 1, Popham 1. Totals: 9-6-16-28.

GROVE CITY — Hall 2-8-12-12, Hyduchak 3-3-3-9, Foster 0-0-0-0, Wyillie 3-0-2-6, V.Sprando 1-1-4-3, Lucido 0-0-0-0, Ferguson 2-0-1-4, A.Sprando 2-1-4-5. Totals: 13-13-26-39.

JV — Grove City, 36-26. Alex Grossi 16, Jordyn Wyllie 10 points for Grove City; A. Popham 14 for Titusville.

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GROVE CITY    16    14    11    10    51

OIL CITY    10    7    19    8    44

GROVE CITY — Hall 4-6-10-14, Hyduchak 6-0-0-12, Foster 3-1-2-9, Wyllie 2-2-2-6, V. Sprando 3-4-7-10, Lucido 0-0-0-0, Ferguson 0-0-0-0, A. Sprando 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Foster 2. Totals: 18-13-21-51.

OIL CITY — Hall 2-0-0-5, Wenner 6-6-6-18, Davis 4-4-4-12, Stevenson 1-0-0-2, Wilfong 1-2-4-4, Williams 1-1-2-3, Bernecky 0-0-0-0, Reck 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Hall 1. Totals: 15 13-16 44.

JV — No score reported.



BOYS BASKETBALL

MERCER    22    7    12    17    58

SHARPSVILLE    18    19    11    17    65

MERCER — McCullough 4-0-0-9, Guiler 5-2-2-13, Miller 4-0-1-8, Clarke 4-2-4-11, Selders 3-0-0-6, Rymniak 3-3-3-9, Glaister 1-0-0-2. 3-pt. goals: McCullough 1, Guiler 1, Clarke 1. Totals: 24-7-10-58.

SHARPSVILLE — Yarabinec 5-1-3-11, Luchey 3-2-3-9, Klenke 5-4-6-18, Popatak 1-0-0-2, Lenzi 2-0-0-6, Vasconi 7-5-6-19. 3-pt. goals: Klenke 4, Lenzi 2, Luchey 1. Totals: 23-12-18-65.

JV — Sharpsville, 55-42.

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REYNOLDS    8    8    5    5    26

LAKEVIEW    27    15    12    7    61

REYNOLDS — C. Woods 1-2-2-5, Greenfield 4-2-2-11, McConnell 1-2-2-4, Frable 0-1-4-1, Jones 1-0-0-2, Sims 1-1-2-3. 3-pt. goals: C. Woods 1, Greenfield 1. Totals: 8-8-12-26.

LAKEVIEW — VanDusen 1-1-3-3, Giovengo 5-0-0-11, Greggs 6-5-5-20, Boggs 3-3-3-11, Rice 1-1-6-3, Gander 5-3-6-13. 3-pt. goals: Greggs 3, Boggs 2, Giovengo 1. Totals: 21-13-23-61.

JV — Lakeview, 43-33. Andrew Fowler, Armstrong 11 each for Lakeview.

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SHARON    19    26    25    16    86

SLIPPERY ROCK    14    18    19    8    59

SHARON — Sanders 5-7-8-17, Jefferson 9-1-3-22, Rice-Woods 1-0-0-2, Smith-Austin 0-0-0-0, Hopson 4-2-2-11, Henry 4-0-0-8, Lee-Cozart 0-0-0-0, Chester 0-0-0-0, Crawford 0-0-2-0, Stovall 6-1-1-13, Ripley 5-3-4-13, Jacoway 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Jefferson 3, Hopson 1. Totals: 34-14-20-86.

SLIPPERY ROCK — White 4-0-1-8, Currie 2-0-0-4, Thompson 5-3-5-13, Rummel 3-0-0-8, Udy 4-0-0-9, Bertozzi 2-1-2-5, Whitmer 0-2-2-2, Christy 1-0-0-2, Mellot 1-0-0-3, Whitney 2-0-0-5. 3-pt. goals: Rummel 2, Udy 1, Mellot 1, Whitney 1. Totals: 24-6-10-59.

JV — Sharon, 54-31. D’amond Crawford 16, Carnell Hawkins 16.