Central comes up short at Bellaire
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BELLAIRE -- It was a cold, wintry Friday night outside the House of Champions. Inside, Owen Ward could not have been any hotter.
The rising sophomore guard poured in a career-high 33 points -- including seven treys -- in leading Bellaire to an impressive 71-55 senior night win over Catholic Central. Ward's seven trifectas came up one short of the school record owned by Nate Davis.
Ward buried six of his bonus bombs prior to intermission. The sweet-shooting six-footer received superb support from Trenton Wilson. The hard-working senior totaled 23 points.
The win was the fourth against 16 losses for J.R. Battista's improving charges. It also avenges an earlier 37-35 loss at Central.
The Crusaders of Don Ogden, meanwhile, dropped to 6-13.
"I thought we played well early, and Owen hitting multiple treys helped give us a lead," Battista said. "We did a much better job against their zone from the first time we played them.
"We got solid contributions from everyone who stepped on the floor. Trenton was real strong inside," he added. "We are getting better and a win helps to validate that. It is always nice to win on senior night."
Luca Connor was exceptional in defeat. The 6-foot-1 senior tickled the twine for 32 points, 21 coming after intermission.
Junior Charles Miller was the only other Crusader in double digits with 10 markers.
Bellaire -- with Ward and Wilson leading the way -- exploded for 23 first-quarter points. Ward connected for 14 and Wilson added six more as the Big Reds took an eight-point lead at the break. Connor countered with 11 points for the Crusaders.
The Big Reds stretched the margin to 38-27 at halftime. Wilson and Ward again did the heavy lifting, each netting six markers in the frame.
Bellaire was able to maintain a 53-41 upperhand after three quarters as Ward and Wilson delivered seven and six points, respectively, in the third. Connor went for nine.
Central never made a serious run in the fourth quarter, unable to cut the margin to single digits. That was due, in part, by the deft free throw shooting of David Zwack. Bellaire's savvy point guard meshed 7 of 8 charity tosses in the frame.
Bellaire committed 12 turnovers, three more than the Crusaders. The Big Reds finished a sharp 22 of 29 at the charity stripe.
Bellaire returns to action Tuesday at Edison. Steubenville Central visits Morgantown Trinity the same night.
Bellaire also prevailed in the reserve game.
Bellaire 71, Catholic Central 55
Catholic Central 15-12-14-14 -- 55
Bellaire 23-15-15-18 -- 71
CATHOLIC CENTRAL: Connor 9, 11-12 32 LeFever 0, 0-0 0 Anderson 1, 0-0 2; Hough 2, 1-2 5; Miller 5, 0-1 10; Maragos 1, 0-0 2; Lesnefsky 1, 0-0 2; Dorsey 1, 0-0 2. Totals 20, 12-15.
BELLAIRE: Zwack 1, 7-8 10; Ward 10, 6-7 33; Littell 0, 0-0 0; McCarthy 0, 2-4 2; Wilson 8, 7-10 23; Cash 1, 0-0 3; Rhodes 0, 0-0 0. Totals 20, 22-29.
3-point goals: Steubenville Central (3): Connor (3); Bellaire (9):Ward (7), Cash (1), Zwack (1).