PHOTO: Ron Lake (3) of Tuscarawas Valley edges in front of Port Washington's Jim Bender (42) to grab a loose basketball in the hotly contested duel between the 2 teams. It was won 59-57 by the Trojans in the late seconds.
PHOTO: They were all looking for the ball when the shutter snapped on this action from last night's Tusky Valley - Port Washington thriller. Those looks of anguish are held by Alvin Fiullman (20) of the Riders, Al Cerett (5) and Mike Widder (25) of Tuskey Valley and Jim Hannahs (32) of Port.
PHOTO: A mountain of hands and arms goes for a loose ball in the exciting Port Washington - Tuscarawas Valley game last night in county tourney action at Dennison. Identifiable are Bill Phillips (22), Gary Gay (30) and Jim Hannahs (32) all of Port Washington and Jim Studer (33), who played the big hero's role by scoring the winning bucket with 8-seconds left, Ron Lake (3) and Al Cerett (5) all of Tuscarawas Valley.
DENNISON - In the only "edge-of-the-seat" contest of the evening, Port Washington came up with its second straight spirited effort in as many years in tourney action to all but end the hopes of the fast-stepping Tuscarawas Valley Trojans. In almost a repeat performance of their battle of last year, the game was was decided in the fading seconds. And, it was ironic that the near "goat" of the game also proved the "hero" for league co-champion Tuscasrawas Valley. A overanxious dribble by husky Jim Studer gave Port the ball with 47 seconds left when one of the dribbling bounces went back over the 10-second line. With TV leading 57-56 at the time, the mistake could have been a costly one. On the turnover, Port took charge and moved toward its bucket. With 26 seconds left, and during a stall, Gary Gay was fouled by Ron Lake and given a one-and-one foul situation, meaning he had to make the first effort for a bonus. Gay dropped the first toss to tie it at 57-57, but missed his second attempt. By the time the ball was taken out of bounds and thrown up court there were only 22 seconds left and TV in possession. Coach Bob Heller called time and planned his strategy. Apparently, it called for one quick pass to Studer near the key, for the three-year veteran got the ball at the foul stripe and with eight seconds showing, jumped and parted the nets perfectly for a 59-57 lead. One last desperate fling by Port was off to the left as the shot was hurried as 2 seconds showed. Thus it was that the 6-foot veteran Studder, who had played a whale of a game and took honors with 23 points to provde the big spark for TV, transformed his near "goat" miscue into a forgotten matter in heroic fashion.
It was a nip-and-tuck thriller all the way as the teams were tied 18 times and the lead exchanged hands no less than 17 occasions. But, for the most part, Port was the pace-setter. The Purple Riders of Coach Dick King led at the first stop 18-17 and 35-33 at the half before trailing 48-46 going into the fourth. With 4:10 minutes remaining, Port led 54-51. But Studer potted his 8th and 9th straight fouls of the game to narrow the margin to one at 54-53. Jim Bender, last year's tourney sensation with 39 points, but held to two field goals last night, then widened the gap to three for Port at the 3:50 mark on two charities. On a turnover, Port regained the ball with 3:03 left and worked out the clock until it showed 1:50 at whih time Al Cerett stole it for TV. Cerett threw it to Ron Lake who in turn found Mike Widder near the key for a big two-pointer to put the Trojans in front 57-56 with 1:41 left. TV again regained the ball on a Port traveling violation with 1:31 showing and stalled it until 47-seconds were left and Studer over dribbled.
Both teams went most of the way without one of their starters. Tony Nigro of Port left with 6:02 left in the second on four personals and lasted only 1:35 minutes after reentering in the last quarter. Rod Cropper was lost in the second quarter when he reinjured a football-knee for Tusky Valley. The extent of Cropper's injury was unknown, according to Trojan Coach Bob Heller. Heller explained Cropper had sprained the knee in last week's game with Garaway. "When we lost Cropper, our big rebounder, we had to go for broke," Heller said. "They were as tough as I thought they'd be. Port played a real game. This is the third straight year we've played them in the tournament and I was looking for something like this." Coach Dick King of Port Washington called his team's performance "a real fine job." "Tusky Valley has a good team, but I thought our boys played a tremendous game. The scoreboard might say they lost, but I say they won." Tusky Valley hit 20 of 60 goal tries for 33.3 percent and 19 of 24 foul shots. Port Washington's main forte was its foul shooting. The Riders hit 29 of 37,while picking up only 14 goals, 6 less than the Trojans. They attempted 51 to end with a 25.6 percentage. Flashy Port guard Bill Phillips led Port with 16 points. Bender had 14, 10 from the foul line, and Jim Hannahs had 12. Widder potted 14 and Lake 13, behind Studer.
TUSCARAWAS VALLEY TROJANS - 59
Studer 7-8-23
Mike Widder 6-2-14
Rod Cropper 0-0-0
Al Cerett 4-5-13
Ron Lake 2-2-6
Bill Huth 0-0-0
Lebold 1-1-3
PORT WASHINGTON PURPLE RIDERS - 57
Bill Phillips 7-2-16
Jim Hannahs 3-6-12
Tony Nigro 1-5-7
Gary Gay 1-4-6
Jim Bender 2-10-14
Alvin Fillman 0-2-2
Friday, February 17, 1961
The Times Reporter
The Daily Reporter
New Philadelphia, Ohio
Dover, Ohio
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