Picture by Kim North Martins Ferry's Alex Reese (5) sky above Monroe Central's Tucker Howell (22) throughout Tuesday evening's sport in Tolbert Gymnasium excessive above the Purple Metropolis. Reese led the Purple Riders with 21 factors, whereas Howell scored 16 for the Seminoles, who prevailed 82-75 in a back-to-back season opener.
MARTINS FERRY — A pair of Ohio Japanese District boys basketball groups with hopes of deep playoff runs met in a back-to-back season opener over the Purple Metropolis on Tuesday evening.
Visiting Monroe Central led early and retook the lead for good halfway via the second quarter in outscoring Martins Ferry 82-75 earlier than a giant crowd in Tolbert Gymnasium.
“This was a troublesome match. Martins Ferry is properly coached and Alex Reese could be very gifted.” Monroe Central head coach Mason Lang stated. “I'm completely happy to return out of right here with a win.”
The Seminoles broke an Eight-all tie halfway via the primary quarter with a 12-7 run to take a 20-15 lead. They knocked down 4 three-point discipline objectives alongside the way in which.
The Purple Riders stayed shut as Maurice Barnett got here off the bench to attain 5 fast factors.
A 15-10 lead allowed Martins Ferry to drag even at 30 when Alex Reese scored whereas being fouled with four:40 left earlier than halftime. His ensuing layup gave the Purple Riders their first lead since main Eight-6 early on. A basket by Barnett made it 33-30, however Tucker Howell buried a triple from the left facet and youthful brother Cooper hit 5 straight for a 38-33 lead and the Monroe Countians by no means trailed.
“Turnover prices us” Martins Ferry head coach Derek Edwards stated. “Monroe Central had one thing to do with it. They’re very athletic and get into passing lanes very properly, however our ball motion wasn't excellent all evening. You're going to have a tough time towards an excellent group like Monroe Central while you flip the ball over like we did.
The Seminoles prolonged their result in one level, 63-56, after three quarters and pulled inside 10, 77-67, on the primary of back-to-back dunks by Probability Allen.
“I feel we bought up 63-60 after which we had like 4 straight turnovers,” Edwards recalled. “You possibly can't try this, so we’ve to enhance there. We additionally need to do a greater job of stopping the opponent in transition, however that's arduous to do while you're throwing the ball proper at them.”
Cooper Howell led a quartet of Seminoles in double figures with 20 factors earlier than fouling out late. Accomplished a double-double with 11 rebounds. Tucker Howell added 16, Allen 15 and Caedyn Silva 10. Tucker Howell additionally had 5 rebounds, 4 assists and a trio of blocked pictures.
“Cooper is simply a sophomore, however he's a very good participant.” Lang noticed. “I'm searching for him to step up huge for us this yr.”
Dylan Parden and Jacob Fogle got here off the bench to spark the Seminoles with 9 and eight factors, respectively.
“We had 4 starters on the bench with two fouls every and our bench did very well.” praised Lang. “I used to be happy with these guys.”
Monroe Central knocked down 11 bonus objectives.
“In our offense, we attempt to stretch the protection” Lang added. “They hit us and we're going to shoot them. We hope we do.”
Reese led all scorers within the contest with 21, 10 of which got here within the last eight minutes. He was 13 of 15 from the foul line. Elijah Smith added 20 factors, Gavin Little added 13 and Anthony Sales space 10.
Martins Ferry was 21 of 26 from the charity stripe.
Monroe Central held a slim lead, 39-35, and had three fewer turnovers at 14-11.
GAME NOTE
— Earlier than Tuesday evening's opening tip, Martins Ferry remembered two of their very own who died prior to now yr with a second of silence. It was John Applegarth and Invoice “Garden Boy” Leach.
“It was a particular evening for us to honor the 2 purple adepts,” Edwards stated. “John has been right here for greater than 40 years as an educator and has filmed over 800 basketball video games. Invoice stored the scorebook and stats for us.”