PHOTO: NOTHING NEW - Receiving trophies has become a common occurrence for Midvale High's Blue Devils in recent basketball seasons. Dave Belknap (left) and Bill Housel accept their second District award in three seasons from tournament manager W.E. Laws following last night's victory over Conotton Valley.
PHOTO: LOOSE BALL! - Midvale's Ron Breniser (hidden) and Conotton Valley's Larry Allen (24) scoot after a loose ball in last night's action in Memorial Hall which saw the Blue Devils gain a berth in next week's Regional Tournament at Canton. Others are Haines Hairston (23) and Jim Clark of Midvale and Earl Heavlin (52) and Jack Buckey (50) of Conotton Valley.*
Midvale's mighty Blue Devils once again stand at the head of District Scholastic Class "A" Basketball. The Blue Devils, who vacated the District throne for only one season, regained the title last night in impressive style before a screeming crowd in Memorial Hall to gain a berth in next week's Regional Tournament at Canton. They belted Harrison County's Conotton Valley 96-70 and in the process set what is believed to be a new team high record. The 173 total by both squads may also be another new mark, according to tournament manager W.E. Laws. Conotton Valley will get a second chance to reach the state's "Sweet 16" group tonight at 8 in Dennison High's gym when it tangles with Old Washington. The latter was upset 68-64 in an overtime in the Marietta District last night. It had previously chalked up 21 consecutive victories. Tonight's winner will also qualify for the Northeast Regional Tournament which will pair two other squads from the Canton District.
*
From the start of last night's contest, Conotton Valley ran into trouble because of personal fouls. In all it committed 28 and it really hurt. The Devils, only outgoaled the Rockets 32-31, but Conotton's inability to keep its hands to itself and Midvale's deadeye accuracy from the charity line proved the difference. The Blue Devils rattled the rims for 32 free throws in 44 tries. Conotton meshed 17 of 28. The Blue Devils took advantage of every little opportunity that came their way. Many of their fielders count on lay in shots and fast breaks which caught the Rockets defense napping. It was only two seasons ago that Midvale downed county rival Gnadenhutten in the District finale in Memorial Hall. It went on to cop the Canton regional and a berth in the State Tournament at Columbus where it was eliminated in semi-final action. While this year's team is not believed to be as speedy as that one - it does have more height and is just as well balanced. Four different scorers led the way in four different periods for the Tuscarawas County kingpins. In the first period, it was Bill Housel with 13 points, in the second it was Ron Breniser with 12, in the third it was Tom Krocker with 10, and in the fourth it was Dave Belknap with 9. Housel ended with 27 for game honors, while Breniser totaled 24, Krocker 18 and Belknap 16. Hairston was the only Blue Devil to foul out and he left the game with 4:05 remaining. He tallied 11 points. Four of Conotton Valley's top six players received the thumb via the foul route in the final frame. The first to go was Larry Dunlap at 7:35. He was followed by Jack Buckey, Walt Enold and Earl Heavlin. Snagging point honors for the Rockets was Lanty Smith with 23, while Buckey ended with 20 and Enold had 14. The first period of action failed to be a forecast for the remainder of the contest. In the initial stanza, the two squads fought neck and neck until late in the period when Housel canned a hook shot just before the buzzer sounded for a 21-19 Midvale lead. The Devils then rolled to margins of 48-37 and 68-54 at the next two stops. Midvale ended with a 43.8 percentage on its shots from the field, when it dropped in 32 of 73, while the Rockets connected 31 times in 86 tries for 36.5 percent.
*
An added attraction at last night's contest was an appearance of the widely - known Dover Basketeers who received quite an ovation for their performance just before the two squads put in their customary warmup action.
*
*
MIDVALE BLUE DEVILS 96
*
Tom Krocker 8-2-18
Ron Breniser 11-2-24
Bill Housel 7-13-27
Dave Belknap 2-12-16
Hanes Hairston 4-3-11
Jim Clark 0-0-0
*
*
CONOTTON VALLEY ROCKETS 79
*
Jack Buckley 8-4-20
Lanty Smith 9-5-23
Larry Allen 3-2-8
Earl Heavlin 0-2-2
Walt Enold 6-2-14
Larry Dunlap 2-0-4
Copeland 0-1-1
Rippeth 3-1-7
McCarty 0-0-0
*
*
*
Saturday, March 7, 1959
Norm Singleton, Sports Editor
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio
No comments:
Post a Comment