Fairview, Cathedral Prep pick up big region boys basketball wins
Tuesday was a big day for boys basketball in Erie County with two first-place battles at Fairview High School and Erie High School.
Fairview hosted Harbor Creek for first place in a jammed-up Region 5, and Erie High looked to maintain its momentum as the Royals hosted Cathedral Prep in Region 6.
Fairview was eager to get back into the gym Friday night before the Tigers arrived home from Oil City. Fairview absorbed its first loss of the season 35-30 at Oil City to drop into a first-place tie with Harbor Creek and Warren.
“We didn't have a very good week of practice going into that game and we learned a lesson in the value of practice,” said Fairview coach Pat Flaherty. “I was disappointed in how we played, and I was disappointed in how I prepared them.”
GAME STATS: Fairview vs. Harbor Creek
The Tigers took out that frustration on the Huskies Tuesday in a dominant 53-26 Region 5 win.
“We knew this was a big region game and we had to bounce back,” said Fairview senior Tyler Shultz. “Good teams bounce back and we practiced hard and came out strong.”
Fairview started the game on a 13-0 run, including 9-0 in the first quarter, to build a double-digit lead. The Tigers led 25-14 at halftime before going on a 16-5 run in the third and eventually invoking the mercy rule in the fourth.
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Fairview improved to 13-1 overall and 6-1 in Region 5, while Harbor Creek dropped to 11-4, 5-2. Warren is currently in second place at 5-1 and plays Fort LeBoeuf on Wednesday after the game was postponed Tuesday because of weather.
“It was important to get out to a lead on that team. We were fortunate they missed some shots early on. They had some good looks that just didn't go down,” Flaherty said. “I think overall our defensive intensity was pretty good and we did a good job on Jaden Rocco and Nick Krahe, who are really good players.”
Both defenses had specific gameplans to slow down key players. Fairview swarmed Rocco and Krahe each time they had the ball, and Harbor Creek did what it could to stop Logan Frazao and James Sitter.
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The rest of the Tigers started to take over as Shultz scored 14 points, while Zach Scott added six and Jeremy Frazao scored five. Logan Frazao still had 16 points and Sitter added six with both throwing down a dunk.
“It's important that the rest of us contribute,” Shultz said. “Logan and James are the main scorers, but when they are being face-guarded, the rest of us have to step up.”
Krahe led the Huskies with seven points and Rocco scored six.
Prep pulls away
The Prep-Erie game was shaping up to be another city classic, but the Ramblers rolled in the second half to secure a 56-36 Region 6 win.
Prep raced to a 21-10 lead in the first quarter before Erie settled in and cut the lead to 28-25 at halftime. The Ramblers went on a 13-7 run in the third and a 15-4 run in the fourth to put away the win.
GAME STATS: Cathedral Prep vs. Erie High
Junior Semontae Lofton led Prep with 16 points followed by Jake Sambuchino with 13, including three 3-pointers, Tavion Spencer with nine points and Nick Lydic with six.
Andreas McCullum and Jay Smith paced Erie with 10 points apiece and Kre Thompson added five.
Prep improved to 9-4 overall and is alone in first place in Region 6 at 2-0, while Erie dropped to 8-6, 2-1.
The Ramblers host Meadville in a big region game Friday and travel to Warren on Saturday before another showdown with rival McDowell on Tuesday. Erie is off until Wednesday against Meadville.
Contact Tom Reisenweber at treisenweber@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNreisenweber.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Fairview, Cathedral Prep take control of boys basketball regions
