STRATTANVILLE, Pa. (EYT/D9) — In an otherwise evenly played game, the third quarter proved to be the difference as Ridgway outscored Clarion-Limestone, 16-12, in the frame in helping the Elkers defeat the Lions, 48-44, on Monday evening.
(Clarion-Limestone’s Tommy Smith goes up for a shot against Ridgway/photo courtesy of Diane Lutz)
Clarion-Limestone (2-1) led 11-10 after one quarter. The game was tied 20-20 at the half.
The Elkers’ third-quarter advantage put them ahead 36-32 after three.
However, the Lions scored the first five points of the fourth to take a 37-36 lead. Aaron Sorge was left wide open on an inbounds pass at the 6:14 mark for an easy layup, putting Ridgway ahead for good at 38-37.
Alex Merritt added a bucket two minutes later for a 40-37 lead. C-L closed the gap to 41-40 before Jack Benninger hit four straight free throws to push the lead up to five at 45-40. A Jase Ferguson free throw and a Tommy Smith 3-pointer got Clarion-Limestone as close as one at 45-44, but Sorge made a short jumper with 24 seconds left and then added a free throw nine seconds remaining to set the final score of 48-44.
“I’m not sure what the reason was, but we just didn’t seem to come in ready to play tonight,” said C-L head coach Joe Ferguson. “We just had no enthusiasm tonight, which partly led to some breakdowns on defense.”
Benninger, Sorge, and Merritt combined for 44 of the Elkers’ 48 points for the game. Sorg scored a game-high 18 while Benninger and Merritt each added 13.
Tommy Smith scored 14 to lead C-L and also pulled down six rebounds. Jase Ferguson added a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds. He also dished out five assists.
C-L made just 9-of-19 free throws while Ridgway knocked down 8-of-16, although over the final two minutes the Elkers were clutch when it counted, going 5-of-8 from the line.
C-L will host Keystone on Tuesday.
“We don’t have long to think about this one as we have Keystone tomorrow,” said Ferguson. “Keystone is always a tough matchup, so we will definitely have to come out and be more ready to play tomorrow than we were tonight.”
CLARION 58, ROCKY GROVE 50
Devon Lauer scored 21 and Dawson Smail added 20 as the Bobcats won again.
Lauer had 10 points in the first quarter and 17 by halftime as Clarion held a slim 30-29 lead.
Smail had the big second half, scoring 13 of his points over the final two quarters to help the Bobcats pull away.
Rocky Grove had three players reach double figures in scoring. Quinn Ritchey led the way with 13, Blayne Baker chipped in 12 and Schiffer Anderson contributed 11.
VENANGO CATHOLIC 49, GROVE CITY CHRISTIAN 42
James Henry scored 25 points to lead the Vikings to this win.
Kyle Beichner and Christian Kluck each added 10 for Venango Catholic.
Henry also had 15 rebounds, three assists and three steal as part of his big night. Beichner and Owen Campbell each added nine board to the winning cause.
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