Huskies suffer upset in tournament opener
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CADIZ -- Harrison Central’s late season swoon continued Tuesday night as it saw its season come to an end.
The third-seeded Huskies (12-11) were upset 66-53 by No. 13 Sandy Valley (10-13) on their home floor in a Division III sectional co-final.
“We gave ourselves a chance (to win),” Harrison Central head coach Justin Clifford said. “They threw it to us a couple of times but we just couldn’t put the ball in the hoop and, ultimately, that was our downfall tonight.”
The hosts converted on a mere 34-percent of their shots (16-for-47), including an ice-cold 1-for-13 from behind the bonus arc. Meanwhile, Sandy Valley was meshing 44 percent if its shots and was 7-for-25 on threes.
The game was deadlocked at 14 before the Cardinals’ Ben Petro knocked down a triple with 24 seconds left in the first quarter. The visitors would never trail.
Brandon Wigfield connected on five treys in the first half, three in the second quarter when foul-plagued Sandy Valley extended its lead to six, 36-30, at the break. The Cardinals committed 11 first-half infractions that allowed Harrison Central to stay in game with an 8-for-11 showing.
“They were hammering us, but we were going to the hoop,” Clifford said.
The Huskies finished 20-for-31 from foul line.
A 9-4 run to start the third quarter made it a double-digit lead, but Harrison Central trimmed the deficit to six, 47-41, on seven quick points from Jonathan Vermillion. However, Sandy Valley netted the final six points of the quarter to lead by a dozen.
“They are athletic and they made some shots early to get them the lead,” Clifford said of the Cardinals. “They made the plays and we didn’t.”
Vermillion led the Huskies with 16 points, 15 of those coming after the intermission. The senior also had nine rebounds. Jace Madzia added 13 points and half-a-dozen boards, while Mykal Quito had eight caroms.
One bright spot for Harrison Central was the play of Caden Arbaugh. He came off the bench to post a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, with six of those boards on the offensive glass.
“He played well,” Clifford said. “We would have liked to have had him all season, but we didn’t.”
Arbaugh missed time with a left shoulder injury and played with a huge brace.
Dontae Faiello led four Cardinals in twin figures with 18. Kaiden Mastri added 16, Wigfield 15 and Petro 11.
Sandy Valley advances to meet fifth-seeded West Muskingum, which ousted Martins Ferry 55-54 in Zanesville.
Sandy Valley 66, Harrison Central 53
SANDY VALLEY (66) - B. Petro 5 0-2 11; Mastri 7 2-2 16; Tucci 1 2-5 4; Faiello 8 1-2 18; B. Wigfield 5 0-1 15; N. Petro 0 0-1 0; Young 0 0-0 0; Williams 0 0-0 0; Snyder 1 0-0 2; Totals: 27-61 5-13 66. HARRISON CENTRAL (53) - Joe. Jones 0 0-0 0; Madzia 2 9-14 13; Cassidy 3 0-0 7; J. Vermillion 5 6-10 16; Quito 3 0-0 6; C. Arbaugh 3 5-7 11; Rex 0 0-0 0; N. Fluharty 0 0-0 0; Totals: 16-47 20-31 53
3-pt. Goals: SV - B. Petro, Faiello, B. Wigfield (5); HC - Cassidy