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STEUBENVILLE -- The Big Red boys basketball team did not have an answer for East Liverpool's final run.
The Potters got off to a fast start as the visitors from Columbiana County built a 16-point advantage in the second quarter, however, Big Red battled back to take a one-point in the third.
This time, East Liverpool responded as the visitors rebuilt their double-digit lead en route to a 69-59 victory Saturday afternoon inside the Crimson Center.
"They shot the ball really well," Big Red (1-2) head coach Mike Haney said. "They go 10 deep, and they all can hit the 3.
"We gave up too many open 3s. We were not close enough. We were in a zone. They worked the ball to the middle, we collapsed on them and then they hit the open guys."
The visitors hit eight 3-pointers in the first half enabling them to build a 29-13 lead in the second.
After a 3-pointer by Nate Birch made it a 16-point game, Big Red hunkered down on defense and began to score points of their own. Big Red ripped off a 24-7 spurt to take a 37-36 lead.
"We picked up our defense," Haney said asked what caused the turnaround for his team. "We did not give them open 3s. We ran our offense better, and we made shots."
Je'mier Faulks hit a 3-pointer of the wing to give the Red the lead, however, it proved to be short lived as the visitors stormed back, retook the lead and never looked back.
"What hurt us, was they converted three three-point plays in a row," Haney said. "They got the bucket plus a foul. After they, we could not catch up."
Three players produced double digits in points for the hosts. Individually, Faulks finished with a team-high 17 points, Santino Haney netted 15 and Keith Lewis collected 14.
A trio of players also scored in double figures for the Potters. Birch contributed a game-high 27 points to lead the way, Preston Kerr contributed 17 and Marquise Glenn ended up with 11.
"Preston did a good job," Haney said. "Burch hit six 3s in the first half. That hurt us there. We came back out and played pretty good defense."
East Liverpool led 14-13 at the end of the first before extending its advantage to 34-25 at halftime.
"They are a real good team," Coach Haney said. "Coach Conley does a real good job. They are a veteran team. They have been playing together since they were sophomores."
The Potters took a 52-41 lead into the fourth.
East Liverpool is scheduled to play Weir Tuesday night up at Potter Fieldhouse. The JV game is set to start at 5:30 p.m.
Big Red is slated to play Brooke Thursday night on the road. The JV game will start at 5:45 p.m.
East Liverpool 69, Big Red 59
East Liverpool 14 20 18 17 – 69
Big Red 13 12 16 18 – 59
EAST LIVERPOOL (6-0): Pease 0 2-4 2, Birch 8 5-5 27, Conrad 2 2-2 6, Kerr 6 3-4 17, Reed 1 0-0 2, Glenn 3 3-3 11, Adkins 1 0-0 2, Dawson 1 0-2 2, Kirby 0 0-0 0, J. Smith 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 22 15-20 69.
BIG RED (1-2): Kernahan 3 0-0 6, Wiggins 2 0-0 5, Haney 5 2-2 15, Adams 0 0-0 0, Lewis 5 2-2 14, Fulks 7 2-4 17, Lester 0 0-0 0, Rea 1 0-0 2. TOTALS: 23 6-8 59.
3-POINTERS: East Liverpool 10 (Birch 6, Kerr 2, Glenn 2); Big Red 7 (Haney 3, Lewis 2, Wiggins, Fulks)