Local Sports

CLASH AT THE COLISEUM: Warriors roll past Lancers; Waterford girls edge Warren

VINCENT -- Before taking on Federal Hocking in the final game of the 2nd Annual Clash at The Coliseum Saturday night the Warren Warriors boys basketball squad was able to watch the conclusion of a suspenseful double-over time girls game between the Lady Warriors and Waterford.

The suspense in the night cap lasted about as long as it took you to take your seat in the stands as for the second straight night the white-hot Warriors jumped all over their opponent and then cruised to victory.

The Warriors jumped out to a 13-0 lead less than three minutes into the game, led 27-4 at the end of the first quarter and went on to totally out-match the Lancers 65-44.

The final score made the game seem much closer than it actually was as Fed Hock finished the game on a 21-0 run that made the final-score a 21-point decision as opposed to a 40-plus point loss.

The Warriors have gotten off to a great start in many of their games this season and it was no exception in this one as they worked the basketball at will against a good team in Federal Hocking.

Warren scored just 10 points in the second quarter but still managed to open up a 37-9 halftime lead and then in typical Warrior fashion jumped all over the Lancers in the third quarter to put the running clock in motion.

Warren out-pointed Federal Hocking by 10 in the third quarter to stretch their lead to 61-23 and then scored the first two buckets of the final quarter to shove their lead past the 40-mark.

After Warren head coach Blane Maddox called the dogs off and gave his bench plenty of playing time in the final quarter, the Lancers offense came to life as they scored the final 21 points on the night with Tariq Cottrill scoring 12.

The Warriors once again featured an incredibly balanced attack led by Julian Stadelman with 14 and Taylor and Chase Lupardus wuth 12 points apiece.

Lupardus missed just one field goal in 13 attempts in the two games this weekend.

Connor Barry added eight points as did non-starter Tyson Cochran.

Federal Hocking, which slipped to 4-3 with the loss were led By Tariq and Mosiah Cottrill with 19 and 10 points respectively.

Warren will be right back at it next week when they travel to Parkersburg Thursday to take on the Big Reds.

Girls: Waterford 41, Warren 40 (2 OTs)

Saturday night's showdown at the Clash at The Coliseum between visiting Waterford and the Warren Warriors had more twists and turns in it than a good old fashioned trip across the West Virginia Turnpike from Charleston to Beckley.

Kendall Sury's lay-up with less than 10 seconds to play in double-overtime proved to be the winner as the Wildcats pulled out a dramatic 41-40 win.

Sury's game-winner came after Avery Wagner yanked down a rebound off of a missed free throw by Mackenzie James-McGuire and fired the ball upcourt to Sury who outraced the Warriors defender and laid it in with her left hand to give her team the lead.

The Wildcats trailed by as many as 12 points in the opening half and appeared to be on the verge of being blown out by the Warriors after both Sury and Wagner picked up their third fouls of the game by the midway point of the second quarter.

Right away the Warriors took full advantage as they forced 11 Waterford turnovers in the second quarter alone and went on an 8-0 run sparked by six points from freshman sensation Aubrey Pepper.

Pepper's third field goal of the run came on an assist from Raylen Shotwell and gave the Warriors what appeared to be a comfortable 19-7 lead but the Wildcats made a late charge even with their two best players on the bench in foul trouble.

The Wildcats got a huge bucket inside by Leah Ryan off of an assist by Laykyn Jones and baskets by Ali Franchino and Elsie Malec in the closing minutes to cut the lead to six (19-13) at the break.

With both Sury and Wagner back on the court to start the second half, the Wildcats carried the momentum they picked up at the end of the first half right into the second as they scored the first six points of the third period to ties things up at 19-19.

From that point on neither team would have any more than a three-point lead until double-overtime.

The Warriors held a 26-25 lead at the end of the third period but Jones connected on a triple for her only three points of the game to give her team a breif lead to open the final quarter.

With just 35 seconds to go in regulation Warren took the lead on Pepper's field goal but Waterford found a way to tie it up on a bucket by Wagner.

James-McGuire had a chance in the closing seconds to win it but missed as did Malec on a last second attempt at a game winner that sent the game to overtime.

Wagner once again tied things up late in overtime with a driving bucket and once again neither team could break though as the buzzer sounded sending the game to another 4 minute period of extended play.

Warren got off to a great start in double-overtime as Chidester and Pepper opened with baskets to give the Warriors a four-point cushion.

That lead held until their were just 50 seconds to play in the game and once again it would be Wagner coming up with the huge bucket to cut the lead in half.

Warren will have to look back and point to their inability to make free throws down the stretch as a prime reason while they lost.

The Warriors were just 7-of-18 from the stripe, mostly in the second half.

Shotwell made one-of-two to give the Warriors a three-point lead but Sury's bucket made it a 40-39 game with just seconds to play.

Waterford quickly fouled Shotwell with less than 20 seconds to play and she was unable to make either allowing Wagner and Sury to hook up on what would turn out to be the game winning play.

The Warriors quickly worked the ball into the front court and head coach Brad Venham called timeout with just 3.7 seconds to play.

Warren worked the ball inside to James-McGuire and she got a good look but her shot was off of the mark and Wagner fittingly yanked down the rebound to put things away for good.

The Wildcats improved to 6-1 with the win while the Warriors slipped to 6-3 with the loss.

Sury led the way for Waterford with 15 points while Wagner added 11 points and 11 rebounds.

The Warriors were led by Pepper with 20 while Chidester and Shotwell chipped in with eight and seven.