It would have taken a knife to cut through the pressure and tension at the jam-packed Midvale gym last night as the Big Blue pulled it from the fire with a nifty toss by Junior Neal Beans with 15 seconds to go. It was strictly anyone's game throughout the final minutes as Tusky Valley (1-1) (2-1) rallied from a 7 point deficit going into the final period. Midvale (2-0) (6-1) was on top 57-53 with 2:17 minutes to go, but hustling Jim Studer potted a foul to cut the gap to 3 at 2:15. Walt Weaver canned one for Midvale to cancel the previous point. Four quick points by the Trojans then set the stage for the cliffhanger as Ronnie Lake hit from the corner and Studer dropped one at the tale end of a fast break to knot it at 58-58 with 1:20 minutes to go. The aggressive play of the Trojans which ultimately proved their downfall gave Mike Page and Weaver separatge one-and-ones and the pair potted all 4 for a 62-58 lead with 50 seconds left. Lake hit again from the key and after Midvale failed to cash in on free throws, Bill Huth found the hoop from the corner to tie it again at 62-62 with 25 seconds left. With 15 seconds remaining Beans hit with a jump push at the right side of the key for the victory. Tusky Valley had one more chance as the second hand neared the top, but it went astray. The Devils, who staged a giant-sized comeback after falling behind 29-22 at the half and outscore TV 24-10 in the third stanza, won the game at the foul line. They potted 21 of 34 chances as compared to the Trojans' 10 of 19. Rick Belknap led the Devils with 13 points, while Beans contributed 17. Lake led Coach Bob Hellers' crew with 19. Studer had 17 and Mike Widder 15. Warren Leggett and Bob Byers fouled out for Midvale, while Rod Cropper and Studer were thumbed for Tusky Valley. Midvale also won both the Reserve (5-2) and Junior High (1-0) teams against Tuscarawas Valley (0-3) (1-1) by scores of 45-43 and 52-26, respectively.
MIDVALE BLUE DEVILS - 64
Warren Leggett 2-2-6
Jim Tidrick 0-0-0
Bob Byers 0-0-0
Mike Page 2-3-7
Neal Beans 4-9-17
Rick Belknap 9-5-23
Walt Weaver 4-2-10
TUSCARAWAS VALLEY TROJANS - 62
Ron Lake 8-3-19
Al Cerett 1-0-2
Rod Cropper 0-1-1
Mike Widder 6-3-15
Jim Studer 7-2-17
Bill Huth 3-0-6
Chuck Ferren 1-0-2
Saturday, December 17, 1960
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio
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