Another monster night from Joseph Roth proves that Ellwood City can win 'ugly'
ELLWOOD CITY — When the first quarter came to a close on Tuesday night in Lincoln High School’s gymnasium, Ellwood City found itself in the thick of a game like none other it had played in before this season.
The Wolverines had only made two field goals in that first eight-minute stretch and led WPIAL Class 3A foe Laurel by just four points. Head coach Steve Antuono’s squad appeared to be in trouble — at least until Joseph Roth began dominating.
Roth, a 6-foot-5 sophomore forward, finished the night with 35 points and 20 rebounds to lead the Wolverines (12-2, 5-0) to a 49-32 win over the Spartans (8-4, 3-3).
“Whenever we see that he’s taking over, he’s hitting mid-range (jumpers), it’s like, ‘Oh, we’re good,’” said senior forward Alexander Roth, Joseph’s older brother and Ellwood City’s leading scorer. “‘The weight is off of our shoulders. We’ve got a guy that will lead us to victory.’”
Having a player who can save the day when nothing else is clicking offensively is a luxury that last season’s Wolverines didn’t have, even as the group took home the program’s first-ever WPIAL title as a No. 11 seed. Now, with Joseph Roth having developed into one of the more dominant players in the WPIAL’s Class 3A, Ellwood City has gone from underdog to top dog in its class.
After Tuesday’s win, Antuono called the star big man “the most impactful player” in Class 3A. And he might be right.
Against the Spartans, the Wolverines only had three other players aside from Joseph Roth score at all. None of the trio — Alexander Roth (eight points), senior guard Steve Antuono Jr. (five) or senior forward Anthony Spadafore (one) — cracked double-digits in the points column. It’s safe to say most teams aren’t winning on a night like that.
Ellwood City showed it can, though. With a player of Joseph Roth’s caliber on the roster, it’s possible.
“If my teammates aren’t having a good day, I’ve got to step up,” Joseph Roth said. “And that’s the same for everybody else — if I’m not having a good day, I expect someone else on my team to step up and take the load.”
The elder Antuono — whose squad does feature “other guys that can put the ball in the hoop” — said he believes his Wolverines played the worst game they’ve played in two years on Tuesday. They’ll need to ensure that performances like that are indeed rare occurrences if it hopes to defend its WPIAL crown come March.
But the fact the group still managed to pull out a victory gives Antuono a reason to be optimistic.
“When we play ugly, Joe’s not going to play ugly,” the elder Antuono said. “(I tell him), ‘You’re the biggest kid on the court; I think you’re the best kid on the court.’ Get him the ball in the paint to make a play for himself or someone else.”
Alexander Roth said he saw his younger brother flip a switch toward the end of last season as just a freshman. He never looked back.
This past offseason, Alexander and Joseph would challenge each other to games of one-on-one in their driveway and run through drills together. Alexander would hover over Joseph and smack his hand as he practiced his ball handling. Joseph would be unfazed.
“In the weight room, he definitely surprised me,” Alexander Roth added.
That time and preparation has turned Joseph Roth into one of the biggest forces in the WPIAL’s Class 3A. And there’s good reason to believe that Tuesday night — and the other monster games he’s already had — provided merely a glimpse of what’s to come.
“He carried us,” Antuono said. “I feel Joe Roth did what Joe Roth is supposed to do.
Contact Parth Upadhyaya at pupadhyaya@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @pupadhyaya_.
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Joseph Roth leads Ellwood City in 'ugly' win over Laurel
