Indians, Riders Bow; Dundee In Big Rally (2-22-56)

BERTHS IN NEXT week's Class B sectional today awaited superlative Strasburg and magnificent Midvale, but before those two old rivals try to keep on rolling along the tournament trail they'll have to decide the Tuscasrawas County Championship. The biggest game of county battling will take place Saturday night at Memorial Hall where last evening the undefeated and talented Tigers from Strasburg smacked down Gnadenhutten and the smooth, bustling Blue Devils from Midvale outlasted Port Washington. The defending district standard-bearers led Gnadenhutten most of the way, but had a couple of anxious moments in the final quarter before they tripped up the Tribesmen 76-59 for their 19th success in a row. And Midvale, riding on a 10-point advantage with four minutes left to play, utilized a stalling game and some late charity pitching to beat back the challenge of the Purple Riders by a 71-69 count. On the basis of their records which included triumphs over their opposition, Strasburg and Midvale were given the favorite's role to advance to the titular tussle. Therefor the biggest surprise of the three-game card - played to a satisfied crowd of almost 2,000 - was provided by Dundee in the opener. The Dundee team trailed Sugarcreek-Shanesville by 22 points at one time, but came surging back to kayo the tough Pirates 67-64 in the last 21 seconds of the game. So the battling Bulldogs thus joined Stone Creek and last night's semi-final losers, Gnaden and Port, in the scuffling which will determine the consolation winner and the county's third entry in the sectional. There will be two consolation encounters tomorrow night. At 7:30 Stone Creek (15-8) will vie with Gnadenhutten (19-3), while about 8:45 Port (13-7) will do combat with Dundee (5-18). The winners will fight it out for the consy crown, the two losers will be out of tourney running for another year. Last night's crowd numbered a few hundred more than was jammed in the gym when Strasburg made its debut against the Pirates last week. Paid admissions amounted to 1,277 with approximately 650 more getting in via passes. Doors to Memorial Hall will open at 6:30 tomorrow night and at the same time on Saturday evening. The consolation final Saturday starts at 7:30.
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Wednesday, February 22, 1956
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio