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STEUBENVILLE -- Wins don't have to be pretty.
A late surge enabled the Catholic Central boys basketball team to rally and defeat Bellaire, 37-35, on a rough night offensively for both teams Friday night inside the Mickey Barber Gymnasium.
The Crusaders won despite having multiple scoring droughts throughout the night, including scoring just a mere two points in the third quarter.
"It was a real-rough night offensively," first-year Catholic Central (6-10) head coach Don Ogden said. "We probably set boys basketball back about 25 years with that exhibition. I don't want to know what our shooting percentage was. We had a long drought in the second quarter, and in the third quarter we only made one basket.
"Credit coach (JR) Battista. His team was well prepared. They came out, and they were focused. We weren't, and that falls on me. That is one thing we need to focus on. Fortunately, we were able to get the lead in the fourth quarter, and we were able to hold on. If either team shot a higher percentage, they would have won the game going away, but a win is a win. We will take it. We were able to get the win, and that is what it is about. We have won three in a row. That is something we want to reinforce to the guys. We are going to keep plugging away."
The Big Reds led 30-29 with 2:58 left in the fourth, but Bellaire was unable to hold on for the victory.
"I told our guys I thought we played pretty-good defense," Bellaire (3-13) head coach JR Battista said. "For us to hold a team to 37 points is pretty good.
"We just did not make enough plays down the stretch. We had some decent looks and we had some 3-pointers. We had some shots we normally make, but tonight we didn't make them. Steubenville Central played well down the stretch. They made enough plays to win the game."
Two players produced double digits in points for both teams.
Individually for Catholic Central, Luca Connor contributed a game-high 16 points, while Charles Miller tallied 10.
"We were fortunate enough to come away with the win," Ogden said. "I'm grateful for that."
Owen Ward and AJ McCarthy each collected 10 points to lead the way for Bellaire.
"We did not play well offensively," Battista said. "Central had a large hand in that. "Their zone bothered us. Their pressure in the passing lanes bothered us. We will get back on the horse and get back at it. We play Monroe Central tomorrow. We get a chance to compete again sooner rather than later."
A basket by McCarthy gave the Big Reds a 30-29 lead, but the Crusaders scored the next six points to take a 35-30 lead with 14.2 seconds left to play. Bellaire scored with nine seconds left to make it a 3-point game, but Connor drained a pair of free throws to make the score 37-32.
McCarthy connected on a 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds second left, and Battista was granted a timeout with .6 seconds showing on the scoreboard clock. The Crusaders were able to successfully inbound the ball ending the game.
"Bellaire is very athletic," Ogden said. "They are fast. They are able to penetrate and get to the hoop. They actually had success doing that, but the shots would not fall – thank goodness."
Ward drained a pair of 3-pointers to give the Big Reds a 6-0 lead before the Crusaders scored the final eight points of the quarter to take an 8-6 lead into the second. Catholic Central then tallied the first seven points of the second quarter to extend its run to 15-0 and increase its advantage to 15-6 on a 3-pointer by Connor with 6:11 left to play in the first half.
"We did have that run, but the thing is we have not been able to sustain leads," Ogden said. "We get the lead, and then teams come back. It is a growing process. We just want to keep getting more consistent. I am proud of the guys. I'm happy we got the win."
The hosts pushed their lead out to 21-11 -- their largest lead of the game -- before the visitors scored the final five points of the quarter to pull within 21-16 at halftime.
Bellaire continued its run in the third as the Big Reds outscored the Crusaders, 10-2, to take a 26-23 lead into the fourth. A 3-pointer by McCarthy with 22 seconds left in the quarter gave Bellaire the lead.
"Don does a good job," Battista said. "Coach Barber and Coach Leary have been coaching for forever. They had a good plan. We just did not make enough plays."
Bellaire is scheduled to play Monroe Central at home tonight.
Catholic Central is slated to play Friday night down at River.
"We have six days off before we play River," Ogden said. "We are going to give the guys a day off tomorrow."
Catholic Central defeated Madonna and Edison before beating Bellaire.
"We are going to give the guys a day off tomorrow," Ogden said asked if the break is good for his team at this time of the season. "It is a grind right now. The day off will take away the grind. We are lucky we will have five days off to get ready. Asked me in five days if I think the break was good or not."
Bellaire won the JV game, 51-44. RayRay Pettigrew produced a game-high 19 points to lead the way for the Big Reds, while Anthony Venditti tallied 117 to lead the Crusaders.
Catholic Central 37, Belliare 35
Bellaire 6-10-10-9 -- 35
Catholic Central 8-13-2-14 -- 37
BELLAIRE (3-13): Ward 4-4 10; Cash 0 0-0 0; Wilson 2 0-0 4; McCarthy 4 0-0 10; Littel 0 0-1 0; Zwack 2 5-7 9; Rhodes 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 11 9-12 35.
CATHOLIC CENTRAL (6-10): Rook 0 2-2 2; Connor 5 4-4 16; Lefever 0 0-0 0; Anderson 0 0-0 0; Hough 0 0-0 0; Miller 4 2-2 10; Maragos 3 0-0 6; Lesnefsky 1 1-2 3; Dorsey 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 13 6-10 37.
3-POINTERS: Bellaire 4 (Ward 2, McCarthy 2); Catholic Central 2 (Connor 2).