Fallsnewspress.com - Orange shocks Walsh boys cagers in double overtime

by Dean Raymond

Correspondent

Stow -- Orange scored the first nine points in double overtime and defeated Walsh Jesuit 76-63 March 2 in a Division II first-round sectional game at Stow-Munroe Falls High School.

The Warriors took an early 7-3 lead in the first quarter as sophomore forward Antoine Smith took a nice in-bounds pass from junior guard Garrett Cona and hooked in a five-foot jumper with 3:36 remaining in the opening period.

However, as they did all game long, the Lions came back and led 10-7 as sophomore guard/forward Terrance Marshall completed a three-point play with 2:01 to go in the first quarter.

Walsh Jesuit then got baskets by sophomore guard Spencer Boyd and sophomore forward Nick Foschia to take an 11-10 advantage after one quarter.

The lead changed hands eight times in the second period before a free throw from Boyd gave the Warriors a 25-21 lead with 2:22 left in the second quarter. Walsh Jesuit settled for a 27-25 advantage at the half as Orange junior guard/forward Darian Johnson converted a layup.

An eight-foot jumper from Warrior sophomore guard Evan Payne extended the Walsh Jesuit advantage to 37-29 with 3:42 to go in the third quarter before an 18-foot jumper by Lion senior forward Bryce Cylar and a three-point play from Cylar trimmed the Warrior lead to 37-34 with 2:50 left in the third period.

Orange trailed just 40-39 after three as senior guard Perry Freed also sank a three-point goal just before the third period buzzer.

Trailing 41-40, the Warriors took the lead back at 43-41 as senior forward Eric Illig took a nifty pass from Boyd and completed a three-point play with 6:54 to go in the fourth quarter.

Another triple from Freed capped an 8-0 run by the Lions as Orange led again at 49-43 with 4:31 left in the fourth period.

However, a three-point goal from Boyd ignited a 9-0 run by Walsh Jesuit as the Warriors led 52-49 with 2:10 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Marshall then connected on a triple with 2:00 to go in the fourth period as the contest was tied at 52.

Walsh Jesuit got the ball back with 29 seconds left in the fourth quarter but a long jumper from Payne missed as the game went into overtime.

The Lions held the lead for most of the extra period despite a free throw from Cona that gave the Warriors a 53-52 advantage with 3:49 remaining.

Orange then scored the next six points and led 58-53 as Johnson hit a pair of charity tosses with 1:43 showing on the clock.

Trailing 58-56 late in the first overtime, Walsh Jesuit got the shot they wanted as Boyd swished home a three-point goal with 10 seconds left as the Warriors led 59-58.

However, Freed was then fouled going to the basket with just eight-tenths of a second left and made the first free throw to tie the game at 59.

In double overtime, knotted at 59, Freed sank an 18-foot jumper and made 3-of-4 free throws with 1:22 remaining as the Lions led 68-59.

Walsh Jesuit got as close as seven at 70-63 as Illig laid the ball in with 55 seconds to go before Marshall and sophomore guard Julian Turner each hit a pair of charity tosses at 0:33 and 0:13 respectively to give Orange as commanding 74-63 lead.

"I'm very proud of my kids," Warrior head coach John Norris said. "Boyd knocked down a big shot in the first overtime and there were a lot of key plays in the game. Illig, [sophomore forward Trenton] Donald and Foschia had great games for us. Orange is a very good team and they made shots when they had to. We had a tough time against their zone defense."

Senior forward/center Marshall Crum led the Lions with 21 points while Freed (19 points), Cylar (15 points) and Marshall (11 points) also scored in double-figures for Orange.

Payne scored a game-high 28 points for Walsh Jesuit with 11 coming in the second period while Boyd added 10 points.

The Lions were 24-of-49 from the floor for 49 percent, including 6-of-7 in the second quarter and canned 24-of-38 free throws for 63 percent, including 9-of-12 in double overtime.

Meanwhile, the Warriors finished 21-of-47 from the field for 45 percent, including 4-of-5 in the third period and converted on 18-of-31 charity tosses for 58 percent, including 5-of-6 in the fourth quarter.

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