East Liverpool continues good start, tops Big Red in Watt/Nese nightcap
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STEUBENVILLE -- For what head coach Nate Conley said was just the second time in eight years, the East Liverpool boys basketball team left the Crimson Center victorious Wednesday night.
After host Big Red opened a narrow lead with a run to end the first quarter in the nightcap of the opening day of the annual Chuck Watt/John Nese Holiday Classic, the Potters pulled ahead by nine at halftime and had an answer for every Steubenville run the rest of the way to take a 63-49 triumph in front of a packed gym.
"If you look at our games over the last five years, they've been one-possession games," Conley said.
"We just haven't been able to win them. It is nice to finally win down here, it's only the second time we have in eight years.
"Big Red is tough, they play hard. It is not easy to win down here. What a great crowd for a great event. It was a great crowd for a high school basketball game. It was fun."
Four players reached double figures for Conley's club, now 7-1, led by Zavea Green's 17, which tied Big Red's Phaeton Hill for the game high.
Cole Dailey was awarded player of the game honors for the Potters, pulling down a team-high 12 rebounds to go with 15 points and a team-leading four assists.
"Cole Dailey protected the rim a lot," Conley said. "This is one of the few years that we can match up with Big Red and their athletes.
Dailey's performance on the boards was a needed counter to the big night of Big Red's Brenton Jones, who Conley called a monster on the boards, as he netted 12 points, dished a game-high five assists and pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds.
"He did a great job of hitting the boards, jumping and grabbing rebounds," Big Red head coach Mike Haney said of Jones' night. "He got after it offensively and defensively.
"(Dailey) is a great player. We saw him last year and at the Huggins camp and summer league and he just gets better and better every game."
After East Liverpool opened a 7-2 lead, Big Red (5-4) raced back to lead 14-13 after one. Hill swished his third of four triples in the game to start the second quarter, then Steubenville went cold as the Potters ripped off a 16-1 run, capped by a Cam Irving trey, to take a 29-18 lead.
Eventually, the Potters led 31-22 at the break, before Big Red again came charging back, going on a 9-0 run to get back within three at the end of three, an early Jones bucket in the fourth making it a one-point game.
The Potters, however, again had an answer -- this time a 12-3 run to take control for good.
"They're one of the best teams in the Valley," Haney said of the Potters. "They get after it and do a good job.
"It was a great atmosphere in here, those are the kind of games you want to be playing in. The crowd was great and it makes for more energy in the building."
Big Red out-rebounded the Potters 35-23, and 18-6 on the offensive glass, but missed on a lot of second chance opportunities and ended up with 25 turnovers.
"Our effort, our hustle, all of that was there," Haney said. "We just didn't finish very well around the rim. We had a great number of offensive rebounds, but sometimes we had three on one possession and never got it in the basket."
UP NEXT
East Liverpool: Is off until it travels to Salem on Tuesday.
Steubenville: Is back in action tonight to close the Watt/Nese Classic, taking on Weir High at 6:30 p.m.
"The good thing is we don't have to wait a week or a couple days to play again, we have a chance to bounce right back," Haney said.
East Liverpool 63, Steubenville 49
East Liverpool 13-18-11-21 - 63
Steubenville 14-8-17-10 - 49
EAST LIVERPOOL (7-1): Stull 0 0-0 0; Dailey 5 5-11 15; Grimes 5 2-2 13; Toothman 1 9-10 12; Green 7 3-5 17; Irving 1 0-0 3; Ludwig 0 0-1 0; Allen 0 0-0 0; P. Kerr 1 1-1 3; J. Kerr 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 20, 20-32; 63.
STEUBENVILLE (5-4): Hill 5 3-5 17; Buggs 3 0-0 6; Pierce 4 4-6 12; Jones 3 6-10 12; Vostatek 1 0-0 2; Lewis 0 0-0 0; Hopkins 0 0-0 0; Mullins 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 16, 13-21; 49.
3-POINT GOALS: East Liverpool 3 (Grimes, Toothman, Irving); Steubenville 4 (Hill 4). ASSISTS: East Liverpool 13 (Dailey 4); Steubenville 13 (Jones 5). REBOUNDS: East Liverpool 24 (Dailey 12); Steubenville 35 (Jones 16). TURNOVERS: East Liverpool 23; Steubenville 25.