Roundup: New Castle boys pull away for win over Marblehead
Dec. 22—A strong start lifted the New Castle High boys basketball team to a win Wednesday afternoon.
The Red Hurricane built a 10-point lead after one quarter and pulled away for a 75-59 nonsection win over Marblehead in the KSA Classic. The tournament is being held in Kissimmee, Florida.
"I thought we played well early," New Castle coach Ralph Blundo said. "We made some mental mistakes throughout the course of the game. That helped them get back into it in the first half.
"Credit to them, they did things right and finished at the rim. I think we wore them out in the second half."
New Castle concluded the two-game Florida trip with a 2-0 mark.
"I think the games matter," Blundo said. "It was important. You want to come down here and win and get better. It's the other stuff, the intangibles, that's more important.
"It's a group of guys together. Eating together. Visiting the parks together. Spending time together. Those are the type of things that can galvanize a team. It's the type of things that will pay dividends down the road. It's fun to watch."
New Castle (6-0) led 22-12 after the first quarter and 36-26 at the half. The 'Canes pushed the lead to 51-40 going to the final frame.
Isaiah Boice led a balanced New Castle attack with 24 points. Jonathan Anderson was next with 22 markers and Ralphie Blundo chipped in 12. Da'Jaun Young added 10 markers.
"Isaiah has been extraordinarily consistent all year," Blundo said. "He shot it well. He finished well. He makes very few, if any, defensive mistakes throughout the course of a game. As did Jonathan. They both played outstanding.
"The balance makes it harder to prepare for us when you have guys scoring the basketball. It's definitely a good thing. We're a team that's growing and getting better, and that's important."
Tyrone Countrymon led the Magicians with 19 points.
Farrell 60,
Neshannock 41
The Steelers broke the game open in the second quarter in a nonsection win over the Lancers.
Neshannock (4-2) trailed 15-10 after one quarter. Farrell, though, stretched the margin to 37-18 at the half.
David Kwiat netted 13 points for the Lancers.
Girls
Blackhawk 53,
Union 22
The Lady Scots dropped a nonsection road decision to the Lady Cougars.
Union (3-3) trailed 16-0 after the first quarter and 27-4 at the half.
Kylie Fruehstorfer paced the Lady Scots with 12 points and five steals. Kelly Cleaver pulled down seven rebounds to go with her five markers. Kayla Fruehstorfer chipped in with four boards and three points.
Alena Fusetti tossed in 18 tallies to pace Blackhawk (5-0).
Mohawk 43,
Shenango 42
The Lady 'Cats were handed their first loss of the season in a nonsection home game against Mohawk.
"I give Mohawk a lot of credit. They battled and made some shots when they had to. I think right now we're not physically or mentally tough enough," Shenango coach Ricci LaRocco said. "We need to play with more urgency and bounce in our step. We're just physically getting beat right now. Once that happens the mental part takes and that's on me.
"I don't think we looked prepared and that falls fully on my shoulders and I'll take responsibility. There's no time to sulk we have to take on Freedom tomorrow for a big section game."
Shenango (5-1) grabbed a 14-10 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Mohawk responded in the second quarter with nine points to Shenango's four.
In the second half, both teams tacked on 24 more points to give Mohawk (4-2) the one point advantage.
Erynne Capalbo paced the Lady Warriors with 26 points, while Emilee Fedrizzi led Shenango with 16.
Wrestling
Laurel 39, Freedom 28
The Spartans grabbed a nonsection home victory against Freedom.
"It was a scrappy match. Their old coach John Rosa is back out coaching the team," Laurel coach Kevin Carmichael said. "Me and John Rosa, he's an assistant coach with them now, we go way back and it's been a fight between the both of us since I could remember. It didn't skip a beat. It wasn't a section match but it had things at the playoff level because they already have their section.
"(Rosa) was always a little bit of wizard at getting a lineup to beat us. Fortunately, he didn't succeed today. It was definitely a scrappier match than I had planned."
Laurel's Ryan DiMuccio and Chase Tinstman won their matches via pinfall. Reid Ketzel, Johnny Andre and Charles Krepp all won by decision for the Spartans.
Alexi Brau, Ashton Campbell and Grant MacKay picked up wins for Laurel via forfeit.
Following are the results:
Laurel 39, Freedom 28.
107 — Camden Bruce (F) won by forfeit
114 — Reid Ketzel (L) won by decision over James Couch, 4-3
121 — Alexis Brau (L) won by forfeit
127 — Johnny Andre (L) won by decision over Jordan Delon, 7-6
133 — Ashton Campbell (L) won by forfeit
139 — Matt Schultheis (F) pinned Braxton Carr in 2:43
145 — Gavyn McClay (F) won by decision over Thomas Hetzer, 12-0
152 — Charles Krepp (L) won by decision over Ryan Kradel, 4-3
160 — Tanner Millward (F) pinned Nick Shaffer in 2:30
172 — Ryan DiMuccio (L) pinned Rashaun Williams in 3:00
189 — Grant MacKay (L) won by forfeit
215 — Chase Tinstman (L) pinned Carter Osadeiw in 2:26
285 — Jaylon Stewart (F) defeated Coltin Hill by disqualification
Bowling
New Castle teams sweep
The Red Hurricane boys and girls teams cruised to 7-0 victories over Rochester at Colonial Lanes.
New Castle's boys team improved to 4-1. Cam Italia paced the 'Canes with the high game of 181 and high series of 471. Cash Buckley also chipped in with a 468 series.
The New Castle girls remain undefeated at 5-0. Leah Wallace rolled the high game of 190 and Danika Wagner posted the high series of 471.
