The Tigers got left out in the cold.
West Liberty-Salem suffered a 42-28 loss to visiting Mechanicsburg Friday in Ohio Heritage Conference boys basketball.
It was a close game in the first half, but the Tigers went completely scoreless in the third quarter. Mechanicsburg hit enough shots in that period and the fourth to build up a safe cushion.
West Liberty-Salem has lost three straight and is now 7-4 in the conference and 7-8 overall.
Carson Poppe had nine points and Troy Christison scored eight for the Tigers.
“Not hitting some easy baskets really affected us defensively,” said WL-S coach Darrin Leichty. “Once they got the lead, they are very good at controlling the basketball. Once we started chasing, they got easy buckets. Buckets for us were hard to come by.”
“I’m just lookin for a a group to stay together right, now,” Leichty said. “We need to keep digging in on defense and just keeping our guys together in a positive way and rooting each other on. Hopefully, some shots start falling for us.”
Mechanicsburg’s high scorer was Conner Eyink with 16 points, while Chris Ritchie had 10 points. The Indians are now 6-6 in the OHC and 6-9 overall.
Both teams missed on their first few attempts. The first score of the game did not come until nearly three minutes had gone by, with Ritchie connecting for the Indians. West Liberty-Salem would answer that basket and another from Ritchie with 3-pointers from Isaiah Reames and Caleb Hershberger. A jumper by Eyink tied it at 6.
The Tigers then surged to end the period, with a basket by Poppe and pair of long-distance connections by Sutton Wilcoxon, while the defense held the Indians to a single basket. After one, they led 14-8.
A free throw by Poppe was followed by Hershberger hitting a shot down low despite getting knocked down on the play early in the second period.
Mechanicsburg then crept back closer with scores by Josh Titus, Eyink and Colton Salyers. WL-S was able to get answers by Beckett Sullivan and Poppe.
After a dry spell on both ends, the teams exchanged scores twice to close out the half. Christison had both scores for the Black and Orange. They headed to the locker room with a five point lead, 25-20.
In the third quarter, Mechanicsburg was lukewarm, hitting four free throws and two shots from the floor over the course of the eight minutes.
However, West Liberty-Salem failed to convert on any of its chances, including ones from close range. That swung the Indians in front by three.
Mechanicsburg had possession to begin the fourth quarter, and spent nearly two full minutes of game time dribbling and passing.
West Liberty-Salem eventually forced a turnover, but missed a pair of shots.
Ritchie connected for the Indians with 5:25 to play. Sullivan got one to fall shortly thereafter to finally break the Tigers’ drought. After another Mechanicsburg bucket, Poppe hit one in the lane, keeping it a 3-point gap.
Eyink rose and connected from the top of the 3-point arc. Then came a score by Ritchie and Eyink again, this time on a 1-hand floater. That pushed the lead out to double digits.
West Liberty-Salem managed to hit three shots in the final minute of play, while Mechanicsburg went three of four at the free throw line.
West Liberty-Salem won the JV game 51-40. Casey Boyer had 20 points and Beckett Sullivan scored eight.
In the freshman game, the Tigers won 37-20, with 11 points by Zeke Longshore and eight from Colton Neeld.
West Liberty-Salem (7-4, 7-8) is back in action tonight at home against Greeneview.
——
In other scholastic action Friday:
BOYS BASKETBALL
Lakers down Graham
Indian Lake defeated Graham 67-44 in a Central Buckeye Conference clash with the Falcons as host.
Brodey Reisinger had a huge night, scoring 31 points. He had 12 baskets, including three from 3-point distance, along with four free throws.
Avery Pequignot scored 19, hitting three from long distance as well. Cooper Hall added 11 points.
Indian Lake led 28-23 at the half, and increased that to 21 points, 50-29, by the end of the third.
The JV game was two quarters, with Indian Lake outscoring the Falcons 33-6. Braden Tussing had 12 points.
The Lakers are now 6-1 in the CBC and 7-6 overall. They travel to St. Marys this evening.
——
Chieftains routed by Urbana
Bellefontaine lost at Urbana 63-37 in a CBC matchup.
C.J. Butler and Jair Mundy each had eight points. Grayson Lotts and Jamison Clement scored six apiece.
For Urbana, Grady Lantz had 21, Sam Wilhelm scored 15 and Juilan Davis added 12.
In the JV contest, Bellefontaine lost 60-53. Sutton Daring had 22 points and Spencer Stolly scored 11.
The freshmen Chiefs won 27-24 in overtime. Tyler Rossey had eight points.
Bellefontaine is 2-4 in the CBC and 8-7 overall. They play at Shawnee on Tuesday night.
——
Riverside falls to Troy Christian
Riverside lost a 71-61 decision to host Troy Christian in Three Rivers Conference play.
Brody Orsborne had 23 points, including five 3-pointers. Jaxon Woods scored 17 points and had nine rebounds.
Landon Purtee had 11 points, Gavin Orsborne got five points and five assists, and Damien Smith had five points. Orsborne and Smith each made two steals.
The JV squad lost 48-36. Justin Mazariegos had 12 points and eight rebounds, plus two assists. Syler Clark had nine points and seven boards. Hayden McCully got five points.
Riverside (1-8 TRC, 3-12 overall) hosts Fairlawn this evening.
——
Raiders lose to North Union
Ben Logan was defeated 80-48 by host North Union
Maddox Vermillion scored 13 points and Camden Spriggs had 11.
North Union also won the JV game, 45-33. Owen Stratton had eight and Adam Tinsman seven for Ben Logan.
The Raiders are 0-7 in the league and 1-14 overall. They will next host Jonathan Alder on Tuesday.
——
BOWLING
Raiders split with Graham
Benjamin Logan’s bowlers won one and lost one against Graham on Friday in CBC action.
The Ben Logan boys topped Graham 2,806 to 2,788, moving to 13-2 on the season.
Dylan Stewart led the Raiders with a 446 series (243-203), followed by Landon Stoodt at 434 (224-210), then Jarrett Buckenroth with 411 (186-225), Nate Davis at 410 (209-201) and Caleb Knight with 355 (191-164).
They had 2,806 in regular games and 750 pins in the Baker games.
Graham edged the Raiders in the JV match, 2,485 to 2,481. It was a season high total for the JV.
Colton Klopfenstein had a 407 (170-237), Jace Lyons had 402 (205-197), Conner Chambers had a 354 (187-167), Pierce Jenkins had 334 (141-193), and Wyatt LeVan had 301 (150-151).
Graham won the girls’ match 2,692 to 2,387. Ben Logan is 6-8 on the season.
Maddy Hamm rolled the high series with 416 (167-249). Next was Aubrey Zedlitz with 382 (200-182), then Lorali Klopfenstein at 353 (193-160), and Hunter McColloch with 295 (149-146). Jacey Koehler had a 159 game and Kaelyn Corwin got a 131 game.
They had 1,736 pins in regular games and 651 in the Bakers.
Graham won the JV match, 1,878 to 1,679. Reigan Thomas led the Raiders with a 288 (121-167). Gi Saunders had 259 (139-120), Kaydon Wilber had 218 (108-110) and Natalie Chapman had a 121 game.
The boys travel to Muskingum University for a tournament today, then face Riverside Monday. The girls face Marysville on Wednesday.
——
Riverside wins over WL-S
Riverside defeated West Liberty-Salem on Senior Night for the Pirates.
The final total was 2,445 for the Pirates and 2,349 for the Tigers.
Aidden Manning had a 387 series, and Kaitlyn Jackson added a 176 game.
Riverside will be in a tournament in Columbus today.