The agony of a tight basketball game is mirrrored in these actions of Dennison St. Mary's Head Coach Paul Drotovick (3 Photos).
Glen Carter of Dennison St. Mary's and Mark Thompson (34) of Mt. Pleasant leap high in a duel for the basketball.
Tom Crosswhite, Dennison St. Mary's All-Ohioan, dribbles past Mt. Pleasent's Ed Kubel (44) en route to a basket.
Blue Wave Mike Bracone unleashes a jump shot over top Mr. Pleasant defender Gary Schrickel.
Dennison St. Mary's Head Coach Paul Drotovick huddles with his charges during a crucial timeout.
STEUBENVILLE - The long awaited battle between Dennison St. Mary's and Strasburg came within a single point of being reality. But an underdog team of fighting underclassmen upset one of the top powerhouses in the State. Disregarding press clippings and State ratings, the Mounties (17-4) moved to a 15-7 first period lead over St. Mary's (19-3), surprising almost everyone in the huge Steubenville Arena. Bearing the reputation of one of the runningest clubs in the river area, the scrappy quintet from Mt. Pleasant elected to slow things to a moderate tempo. St. Mary's chose to go along with the style.
Both clubs employed 1-3-1 defenses which produced effective results as they limited each other to very few close range shots. Tom Crosswhite, ace scorer for the Waves, was limited to a lone fielder in the 1st quarter. St. Mary's zone was almost as effective as it limited the victors to a mere 4 baskets, but 5 points from the foul line provided the difference for Mt. Pleasant. The zone defenses were somewhat solved in the 2nd period with both clubs racking up 18 points each as the Mounties trotted into the lockerroom with a 33-25 halftime lead. Turnovers played havoc for the Dennison crew as each drive was temporarilly stemmed. The Waves were guilty of 11 miscues, as the hustling opponents were johnny-on-the-spot to take advantage of them.
After halftime, St. Mary's came charging back like a new team as the pressing man for man began to take charge. Crosswhite stole the ball 5 times as the press rattled the Mounties and caused them numerous turnovers. Crosswhite connected for 10 markers in this period as he led the Waves to a 42-40 third period lead. Fourth quarter action brought the fans to the edge of their seats, as practically all Tuscarawas County patrons were dreaming of the game they had built for the past year. Action was furious throughout the entire last period. With 6:20 remaining on the clock, St. Mary's held a slim 46-42 lead as Mike Bracone fouled Jeff Timko. Timko cashed both ends of the foul attempts, but Crosswhite countered with a long jumper before Gary Schrickel put his team within 2.
After a Mt. Pleasant timeout, Ed Kubat tied it 48-all on a driver with 5:20 remaining. Mark Thompson swished a pair of fouls before leaving on 5 personals at 4:35. Crosswhite quickly made it 52-50 with a pair of free throws and a 20-foot jumper before he incurred his 5th personal in fouling Timko after Ron Thompson put the Mounties ahead with another free throw. Timko missed the 1st shot, but Bracone was called for being in the lane and Timko put his team in front 53-52 with 2:59 on the clock. With 2:08 left, it appeared St. Mary's had completed a comeback that would long be remembered as Carter and Bracone swished 2 pointers to give the Waves a 56-53 margin. Mt. Pleasant refused to throw in the towel. Carter was assessed his 2nd technical foul of the night and Kubat cashed in to cut St. Mary's lead to 56-54. Tolloty fouled Ron Thompson and with 1:56 to go the score was tied again as the result of the 2 fouls. St. Mary's cashed in another foul shot at 1:27 to forge into the lead 57-56. At this point; however, Carter was whistled for his 5th personal.
Winfield Robson, a late substitute, then stepped into the starring role as he knotted the count 57-57, despite being placed in the pressure chamber for the do-or-die moment. Robson added another free throw and with the Mounties leading 58-57 and 12 seconds remaining, Bonaduce calmly swished an 18 footer for a 59-58 St. Mary's lead and the house of turmoil felt the Drotovick charges were home safely. With the demand for a last shot, the Mounties called timeout. A wild scramble ensued under the basket, but again it was Robson donning a hero's mantle as he slipped through 3 defenders to can the winning markers with 2 seconds left.
Crosswhite, an All-Ohioan, paced St. Mary's with 28 points before fouling out with 3:36 remaining in the 4th period. Mark Thompson set the pace for the victors with 18. Thompson was in foul trouble and had to sit out almost all of the 3rd period. St. Mary's connected on 26 of 54 action shots for 48.1 percent, while the victors managed 19 of 62 for 31.2 percent, but the margin of victory was at the free throw line. Mt. Pleasant rang 22 of 32, while the losers could claim 7 of 13. St. Maray's ended the season with a fine 19-3 season record.
MT. PLEASANT MOUNTIES - 60
Mark Thompson 5-8-18
Jeff Timko 4-6-14
R. Thompson 1-2-4
Gary Schrickel 3-0-6
Ed Kubat 5-4-14
Winfield Robson 1-2-4
DENNISON ST. MARY'S BLUE WAVES - 59
Tom Crosswhite 12-4-28
Glen Carter 4-0-8
Steve Moeller 0-1-1
Mike Bonaduce 3-2-8
Chris Tolloty 3-0-6
Mike Bracone 4-0-8
Stull 0-0-0
Ridgeway 0-0-0
Jordon 0-0-0
Friday, March 3, 1967
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio
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