---- — Farrell High boys basketball team was like a boxer on the brink ... standing on wobbly legs, behind on all three judges’ cards, taking a standing-8 count from the referee.

Entering Wednesday night’s District 10 Region 5-AAA contest at The Hive in Hermitage, the Steelers’ season was slipping away: 7-7 overall, 4-4 in the region, and trailing by 11 markers at intermission.

Meanwhile, host Hickory had been unbeaten in the region (8-0).

However Marshawn Hyman hit 7 of his 10 second-half points in the 4th frame and Marquette Coleman collected another 6, and the Steelers stunned the ’Stingers, 54-53.

When Steelers’ skipper Roland Shannonhouse was ejected for being assessed back-to-back technicals with 47.1 seconds remaining to intermission, Hickory’s Matt Votino’s pair of freebies hoisted the Hornets to a 32-21 margin at intermission.

However Hickory had 10 second-half turnovers — 20 for the game — including a pair at the 12.7- and 6.7-second junctures of the final frame.

Malik Miller made a pair of free throws with 12 ticks to play, forging Farrell to a 54-51 lead. That offset Votino’s off-balance, banked, buzzer-beater from just inside the 3-point arc.

“What the kids showed, they grew up real quick and some of the adversity, they were able to respond. They fought, and that’s what we want them to do: Fight for every thirty-two minutes,” coach Bobby Stewart assessed. “They came out in denial and played the tough defense we’re capable of.”

In Shannonhouse’ absence, Stewart was speaking on behalf of his coaching counterparts Marco Miller, Tim Odem and Frank Sincek.

“All we knew is that it was the second half of the season and a new beginning,” Stewart said. “And we knew we had to get this one. We’re gonna take ’em one at a time, and when they come up we’re gonna do our best to try to take ’em down.

“Right now, it’s the second half, and if we can take a few of these games that we lost early in the season — which we were very capable of winning,” Stewart said. “We showed a little bit more maturity, were a little bit more patient, and we didn’t quit, that was the main thing.”

For Hornets’ headmaster Nick Cannone it was one that slipped away from his squad. In addition to the turnovers, free-throw marksmen Votino and Anthony Cannone were a combined 16-for-24.

“Those two things,” Coach Cannone said regarding turnovers and missed freebies. “We take pride in taking care of the ball with our guards, and we did shoot a high percentage from the foul line. And when you don’t have a dominant big guy ... but, still, you’ve gotta take care of the ball and you’ve gotta make your foul shots. That’s how we won eight games in the first half, and we didn’t do those things (Wednesday) night.

“We had some leads (39-26 with 5:30 remaining in the 3rd quarter on Anthony Cannone’s triple),” Coach Cannone continued. “Farrell made some plays.

“I thought we should’ve played loose, better. ... But that’s the way this region is,” Coach Cannone continued, admitting, “I’m just disappointed that we didn’t do a good job (with turnovers and free-throw shooting). You put those two things together and usually it spells defeat.”

Hyman and Coleman evenly divided 20 points for Farrell (5-4, 8-7), while Jamel Brown bucketed 11. Ike Jones’ 4-for-4 free-throw marksmanship and 3-for-4 performances by both Hyman and Coleman enabled the Steelers to shoot 16 for 22 (72.7 percent) from the line. Most significantly, after Farrell was forced into 9 first-half miscues by the Hornets’ 1-3-1 trap, the Steelers had only a handful of 2nd-half miscues.

For Hickory (8-1, 11-3), Votino’s game-high 17-point, 5-rebound, 4-assist line, Cannone’s 10 points, Donté Green’s 8-point, game-high 8-rebound effort, and Marcus Sonoga’s 7 points, 3 assists and handful of caroms were keys. However the Hornets hit only 19 of 29 freebies (65.5), offsetting their 17-for-34 accuracy from the floor. — By Ed Farrell, Herald assistant sports editor.

BOYS BASKETBALL

ä Cochranton 62, Jamestown 40 — At Cochranton, the Region 3 Cardinals (9-6) outscored the Muskies 21-6 in the 2nd quarter to pull away for the non-region win.

Kendall Dickson notched 21 points to lead Cochranton while Garrett Adams and Josh Vanderhoof had 11 each.

Alex Boylan rifled in a game-high 23 points for the Muskies (1-12) while Ryan Livingston buried 4 treys en route to 14 points.

ä Shenango 61, Wilmington 51 — At New Wilmington, the WPIAL Section 2-AA Wildcats (6-10) led 19-15 after 8 minutes of play, 36-22 at the break and went on to beat the Hounds (4-10).

Ryley Ferrari had 21 points for Shenango while Brenton Booher bucketed 14 and Greg DePorzio added 11 markers.

Nate Anthony paced the Hounds with 14 points. Also, Rocco Fagan scored 12 and Jordan Smith had 10.

ä Lincoln Park 70, Kennedy Catholic 62 — At Midland, WPIAL Section 1-A Lincoln Park (11-4) jumped out to a 24-13 lead and held on for the win over KC (10-4).

Maverick Rowan (21), Elijah Minnie (17), Brian Skovranko (10) and Jaylyn Cottrill (10) all scored in double digits for Lincoln Park.

Keying Kennedy Catholic (9-3) were Mac Hartman (19), Jeffrey Thompkins (18) and Chris James (11), Thompkins sustained a knee injury of an undetermined severity and was to be evaluated, it was reported.

ä Franklin 43, Grove City 29 — At Grove City Tuesday, the Eagles (2-7, 4-10) led 8-6 after the 1st quarter, trailed 13-11 at halftime and 25-19 after 3 quarters and went on to fall to drop the Region 5-AAA clash to the Knights (7-2, 9-6).

Noah Jones fired in 18 points to lead Franklin while Kyle Ritchey added 12 markers.

Matt Thrasher led GC with 10 points.

ä The Campbell Memorial-at-Brookfield boys’ basketball game has been rescheduled for Feb. 19th.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

ä Kennedy Catholic 69, Farrell 18 — At Hermitage, KC (4-0, 14-1) led 26-3 after the opening 8 minutes and rolled to the Region 1-A win over the Lady Steelers (2-2, 8-7).

Rebekah Kish drained 3 treys en route to a career-high 19 points for KC and also had 7 steals. Alex Ricketts had 18 points and 5 steals and Rachel Burns posted a 14-point, 10-rebound double-double.

Whitney Murray led the way for Farrell with 5 points.

WRESTLING

ä Sharon 38, Grove City 28 — At Tiger Gymnasium in Sharon, the Tigers improved to 8-4 with the win over the Eagles.

Jarray Norris (126) and DeMarco Hosch (160) registered falls for Sharon while Michael Bonner (138) rolled by technical fall.

Deandre Byers posted the lone pin for Grove City.

Coach Dave Ciafre noted that his squad hosts the Sharon Duals on Saturday. The event starts at 10 a.m.

ä Reynolds 62, Franklin 7 — On Senior Night in Transfer, the host Raiders (14-2) rolled as Nick Nottingham (126), Mason McCollum (132), Levi Stoyer (145), Austin Matthews (152), Jamar Henry (182) and Gene Ringer (285) posted pins. Matthew Leise (138) and Seth Hogue (106) added tech falls.

Also, Mike Bartolo (113), Mike Millero (160) and Chris Matthews (170) added major decisions.



BOYS BASKETBALL

FARRELL    13    8    17    16    54

HICKORY    19    13    8    13    53

FARRELL — Brown 4-2-6-11, Miller 1-2-2-4, Jones 2-4-4-8, Archie 0-0-0-0, Page 2-2-2-7, McNair 0-0-0-0, Coleman 3-3-4-10, Pratt 2-0-0-4, Hyman 3-3-4-10. 3-pt. goals: Brown 1, Page 1, Coleman 1, Hyman 1. Totals: 17-16-22-54.

HICKORY — Votino 4-9-14-17, Sonoga 3-1-2-7, Green 3-2-2-8, V.Mastrian 1-0-1-2, Cannone 2-7-10-10, Nardone 1-0-0-2, Pryts 1-0-0-2, N.Mastrian 2-0-0-5. 3-pt. goals: N.Mastrian 1, Cannone 1. Totals: 16-19-29-53.

JV — Hickory, 43-42. Andrew Pryts 14, Brandon Rhoades 10 points for Hickory; Tionte Davis 11, Dewayne Burns 9 for Farrell.

———

JAMESTOWN    14    6    11    9    40

COCHRANTON    16    21    14    11    62

JAMESTOWN — Kilgore 1-0-0-2, Boylan 10-3-5-23, Livingston 4-2-4-14, Graham 0-1-2-1, Moss 0-0-0-0, Adams 0-0-0-0, Potter 0-0-0-0, Depree 0-0-0-0, Bauer 0-0-0-0, Lorigan 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Livingston 4. Totals: 15-6-11-40.

COCHRANTON — Saunier 2-1-2-5, Villamar 1-1-2-4, G. Adams 3-4-8-11, Dickson 8-2-2-21, Herzberger 3-1-2-7, Vanderhoof 5-1-2-11, Wigton 1-0-0-2, Wagner 0-1-2-1, Roche 0-0-0-0, Bridge 0-0-0-0, Buchan 0-0-0-0, Custead 0-0-0-0, W. Adams 0-0-0-0, Sekersky 0-0-0-0, Staudt 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Dickson 3, Villamar 1, G. Adams 1. Totals: 23-11-20-62.

JV — No game.

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SHENANGO    19    17    12    13    61

WILMINGTON    15    7    16    13    51

SHENANGO — DePorzio 3-4-4-11, Tanner 1-1-2-3, Ferrari 8-1-3-21, Jacobs 1-3-4-5, Booher 5-2-4-14, McCormick 2-0-0-5, Conner 1-0-0-2, Pherson 0-0-0-0, Micco 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Ferrari 4, Booher 2, DePorzio 1, McCormick 1. Totals: 21-11-17-61.

WILMINGTON — Fagan 5-1-2-12, Hilliard 3-3-6-9, Anthony 5-3-4-14, J. Smith 4-2-2-10, R. Brumbaugh 0-0-0-0, Taylor 0-0-0-0, Onestak 0-0-2-0, D. Smith 0-0-0-0, Bloise 0-0-0-0, Martini 0-0-0-0, T. Brumbaugh 2-2-2-6. 3-pt. goals: Fagan 1, Anthony 1. Totals: 19-11-18-51.

JV — Shenango, 58-51 (OT). Ryan Smith 20, James Micco 13 for Shenango. Josiah Bloise 15 for Wilmington.

———

FRANKLIN    6    7    12    18    43

GROVE CITY    8    3    8    10    29

FRANKLIN — Rutherford 3-1-3-9, McCoy 0-0-2-0, Ritchey 4-4-6-12, Mooney 0-2-2-2, Maxon 1-0-0-2, Jones 6-6-10-18, Russell 0-0-0-0, Mook 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Rutherford 2. Totals: 14-13-23-43.

GROVE CITY — Marnich 0-0-0-0, Turner 3-0-0-7, Torok 1-0-0-3, Thrasher 4-1-1-10, Reznor 1-1-2-3, Polkabla 1-0-0-2, Dolan 1-0-0-2, M. Young 1-0-0-2. 3-pt. goals: Turner 1, Torok 1, Thrasher 1. Totals: 12-2-3-29.

JV — No score reported.

———

KENNEDY    13    14    15    19    62

LINCOLN PARK    24    12    15    19    70

KENNEDY CATHOLIC — Brewer 3-2-4-9, Zachar 1-0-0-2, Thompkins 6-0-0-13, D’Onofrio 1-1-3-4, James 5-0-1-11, Crow 1-2-4-4, Hartman 6-7-8-19, Hurton 0-0-0-0, Leipheimer 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Brewer 1, Thompkins 1, D’Onofrio 1, James 1. Totals: 23-12-20-62.

LINCOLN PARK — Kellem 3-2-3-8, Skovranko 5-0-0-10, Rowan 7-6-7-21, Minnie 5-6-8-17, Loedding 1-0-1-2, Cottrill 4-2-3-10, Tomassetti 1-0-0-2. 3-pt. goals: Rowan 1, Minnie 1. Totals: 26-16-22-70.

JV — KC, 61-16.



GIRLS BASKETBALL

FARRELL    3    4    5    6    18

KENNEDY    26    17    16    10    69

FARRELL — Scott 1-1-2-3, Oatis 0-0-2-0, Avery 0-0-0-0, Chambers 0-0-0-0, Gambill 0-0-0-0, Polk 2-0-0-4, Page 1-1-2-3, Sharper 0-1-2-1, Lampkins 0-0-0-0, Smith 1-0-0-2, Murray 1-3-4-5. Totals: 6-6-12-18.

KENNEDY CATHOLIC — O’Brien 1-0-0-2, Yacoub 0-0-0-0, Kress 3-0-0-6, Hood 3-2-2-8, Kish 8-0-0-19, Burns 5-1-2-14, Scoccia 0-0-0-0, Ricketts 7-1-1-18, Bocian 1-0-0-2, Volkay 0-0-0-0. 3-pt. goals: Kish 3, Burns 3, Ricketts 3. Totals: 28-4-5-69.

JV — KC, 52-19. April Bocian 17, Taylor Hood 10 for KC.



WRESTLING

SHARON 38, GROVE CITY 28

152 — Chet Simoni (GC) dec. Cory Buchanan, 8-2; 160 — DeMarco Hosch (S) pinned Logan Pryor, 1:31; 170 — Deandre Byers (GC) pinned Isaiah Chavez, 1:23; 182 — double forfeit; 195 — Beau Dignall (S) dec. Stephen Boyle, 7-3; 220 — Austin Stelene (GC) forfeit; 285 — Anthony Leak (S) forfeit; 106 — Chad Bable (GC) forfeit; 113 — Cody Buchanan (S) forfeit; 120 — Austin Alfreno (S) forfeit; 126 — Jarray Norris (S) pinned Ryan Grace, 3:26; 132 — Luke Walter (GC) maj. dec. Jason Clark, 10-2; 138 — Michael Bonner (S) tech. fall Jared Sample, 23-8, 5:52; 145 — Trey Maher (GC) dec. Andrew Campbell, 7-4.

———

REYNOLDS 62, FRANKLIN 7

113 — Mike Bartolo (R) major dec. Zach Sharrer, 18-9; 120 — Alex Reiter (R) dec. Dieux Harper, 8-6; 126 — Nick Nottingham (R) pinned Dusty Bell, 2:17; 132 — Mason McCollum (R) pinned Hunter Cook, 3:40; 138 — Matthew Leise (R) tech. fall Tyler Emrick, 15-0, 4:04; 145 — Levi Stoyer (R) pinned Tyler Carey, 3:58; 152 — Austin Matthews (R) pinned Dakota Geer, 2:23; 160 — Mike Millero (R) major dec. Derek Steetle, 15-7; 170 — Chris Matthews (F) major dec. Austin Moffett, 13-2; 182 — Jamar Henry (R) pinned Nathan Miller, 2:59; 195 — Daniel Geer (F) dec. Denton Zeronas, 7-1; 220 — Logan Rickert (R) tech. fall Jeff Rial, 16-1, 4:43; 285 — Gene Ringer (R) pinned Chris Poundfoot, 0:48; 106 — Seth Hogue (R) tech. fall Nathan Spielvogel, 15-0, 5:26. JV: Reynolds, 15-0.