Sencire Harris leads STVM to boys basketball win; Norton, Woodridge girls earn victories

BOYS BASKETBALL

St. Vincent-St. Mary 56, St. Ignatius 38

Senior Sencire Harris threw down multiple slam dunks and totaled 29 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals Thursday night to lead host STVM to a win.

The Irish jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter and held advantages of 11-7 at the end of the first quarter, 30-11 at halftime and 46-20 through three quarters. Harris was instrumental in the fast start with seven points in the first quarter and 14 points in the second quarter.

The game pitted STVM coach Dru Joyce II against his youngest son, Ignatius third-year coach Cameron Joyce, a 2007 STVM graduate who played basketball for his father.

"It is fun coaching against my son, but it is also tough," said Dru Joyce II, in his 23rd season with STVM and 21st season as head coach.

"[Thursday night] was a little tough because we jumped on them and I don't think they had seen that kind of pressure in the half-court defensively. We sat down and guarded them. We guarded them tight and made it really tough to get shots.

"Then you couple that with Sencire making shots. He had one of his most efficient games to get to that 29 points. He was 3-for-5 from behind the 3-point line, 7-for-11 on 2-point attempts and 6-for-6 at the free-throw line. When he has that kind of game, we are very difficult to beat."

STVM's Kevin Hamilton Jr. contributed eight points, Lance Hayes had seven points and three steals and Ramar Pryor scored six points.

"Kevin Hamilton took three charges on three possessions in a row in the first half," Dru Joyce II said. "That pretty much set the tone for the game. ... Those are empty possessions and we are going to the other end and we are scoring."

Charlie Hyland paced Ignatius with six points and Caleb Yarian scored five points.

STVM committed 14 turnovers and forced Ignatius into 21 turnovers.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Norton 54, Springfield 25

The visiting Panthers (13-4 11-0) rolled to a Metro Athletic Conference win behind Addie Kropp (18 points), Gabby Destefano (13) and Bailey Shutsa (10).

Norton shut out Springfield 20-0 in the second quarter.

Ellie Gardinier scored eight points for the Spartans.

Woodridge 55, Cloverleaf 48

Leah Mencer scored 19 points to lead the visiting Bulldogs to victory. Woodridge's Cameron Hoover (16 points) and Allison Martin (eight) also played key roles.

Laurell Brown led the Colts with 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Tori Smith had 13 points, 15 rebounds, three steals and two assists.

Hudson 43, North Royalton 39

Ali Menendez and Gracie Merrick scored nine points apiece to lead the Explorers to a win. Hudson's Delaney DiGeronimo and Constance Loring both finished with seven points, and Ella Kordos chipped in six points.

Manchester 49, Coventry 24

The visiting Panthers outscored the Comets in each quarter with balanced scoring.

Emma Stamperd led Manchester with 12 points, Mackenzie Moss scored 10 points, Olivia Paljich chipped in eight and Rylie Petroff and Courtney Perry had six apiece.

Madi Burkhart scored 11 points for Coventry.

Northwest 66, Massillon 36

Ashley Cudnik and Lily Bottomley scored 20 points apiece for visting Northwest (15-2). Bottomley also grabbed 13 rebounds and Cudnik had six assists.

CVCA 64, Triway 37

The visiting Royals (12-4, 8-1 PAC-7) won with three players in double figures: Gia Casalinova (20 points), Joi Williams (15 points) and Katelyn Harabedian (10 points).

Archbishop Hoban 75, Olmsted Falls 70

Senior Lanae Riley scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the visiting Knights (17-0) to a win.

Hoban's Gracie Schill scored 15 points, Adrena Gordon totaled 12 points and six rebounds, Rylee Bennett contributed seven points, Izzy Callaway chipped in six points and Emma Rasmussen had five points.

— Compiled by Michael Beaven and Don Coughlin

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Sencire Harris leads STVM to convincing boys basketball win