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MARTINS FERRY -- Steubenville is an extremely athletic team with quality depth.
Those two attributes came to the forefront Friday, night as Big Red gained a repeat win over Martins Ferry by a 77-68 count at Tolbert Gymnasium.
Steubenville parlayed its pressure defense with a 10-deep rotation in winning for the 11th time in 13 outings. The two blemishes have come at the hands of Marlington and Wheeling Park.
Big Red saw eight players reach the scoring column. Senior forward Jorian Jones led the way with 23 counters, while classmate Josh Zimmerman poured in 22 points. Ryan Rauch and James Roundtree delivered double-digit support with 11 and 10 tallies, respectively.
"This is a nice win for a couple of reasons," Steubenville head coach Mike Haney said. "First, we beat a very good team. Secondly, they have beaten us down here the last two years."
Martins Ferry senior post DeAndre Pugh was superb in a losing cause. The 6-foot-5, 300-pound all-Ohio tackle exploded for 31 points to go with 12 rebounds.
Steubenville led from the outset but never shook the Purple Riders until late third quarter.
Big Red inched out to a 13-12 edge after the opening eight minutes. Jones fueled the visitors with six points in the quarter.
Steubenville used nine points from Rauch and eight more from Zimmerman in the second frame to stretch its margin to 35-29 at halftime. Pugh kept the Ferrians within striking distance with 10 second-period points.
The Jefferson Countians used a 19-13 third quarter advantage to open some breathing room at 54-42 entering the final chapter. Ferry never mounted a serious threat over the final eight minutes, as Jones held the Purple at bay with 10 points.
"We played 10 players, and they all contributed in a good way. I thought our depth took its toll on them," Haney said. "Offensively, we are an unselfish bunch. We moved the ball very well and got it where it needed to be.
"Pugh is tough to handle. You can afford to give him 30 if the other players don't hurt you too badly. That was the case tonight. We have a big week coming up. We got St. Clairsville Tuesday and then East Liverpool. We need to keep winning."
Dasyn Hores and Reuben Hilson were Pugh's chief support. Hores netted 11 points, while Hilson chipped in 10.
Ferry dropped to 9-4 and have no time to rest. The Purple Riders travel to Shadyside today for a 1 p.m. varsity start in an effort to beat the onslaught of bad weather.
"Their depth makes a big difference. There is no drop off when they go to their bench," Ferry head coach Derek Edwards said. "They play very hard, and they wear on you. They didn't make a lot of 3s, but the ones they did killed our runs. Steubenville is a tremendous team.
"I thought we gave a very good effort for four quarters tonight. I cannot fault our effort. We have a quick turnaround now. It will be tough at Shadyside. Our kids are spent after tonight."
Steubenville also won the reserve contest.
Steubenville 77, Martins Ferry 68
Steubenville 13-22-19-23 -- 77
Martins Ferry 12-17-13-26 -- 68
STEUBENVILLE: Rauch 4 2-2 11; Wallace 0 1-2 1; Biasi 0 0-0 0; J. Jones 11 1-1 23; Bickerstaff 2 0-0 4; Zimmerman 8 6-8 22; Roundtree 3 4-5 10; Duggan 0 0-0 0; Bracone 1 0-0 3; T. Jones 1 0-0 3. TOTALS: 32, 14-18: 77.
MARTINS FERRY: Olssen 2 3-4 8; Hores 4 2-3 11; Shrodes 3 0-0 8; Smith 0 0-0 0; Hilson 4 1-3 10; Pugh 11 9-12 31. TOTALS: 24, 15-22: 68.
3-POINT GOALS: Steubenville 3 (Rauch, Bracone, T. Jones); Martins Ferry 5 (Olsen, Hores, Shrodes 2, Hilson).