A classic once again

Wadsworth 48, Firestone 47

Behind nine first quarter points from junior forward Anthony Schrock, Wadsworth held a 16-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. Firestone junior Devin Ray caught fire in the second quarter poured in seven points to help cut the Grizzlies lead to 24-21 at halftime, and continued to nip away at the Wadsworth lead in the third, trailing by just 37-36 heading into the fourth quarter.

Falcons junior center James Wimberly gave a great effort with six points in the fourth quarter, but with 3.7 seconds left, the game rested in the hands of Schrock who stood at the free throw stripe. With the score tied at 37, Schrock’s first shot bounced harmlessly off the rim. On his second shot, the ball found its mark, making him the instant hero of the game.

Schrock was named the player of the game for Wadsworth, with a game high 19 points and nine rebounds while also standing out defensively. Senior guard Alan Sheppard also landed in double figures for the Grizzlies (4-3) with 15 points. Wimberly was the player of the game for Firestone (2-4), scoring 18 points with eight rebounds.

St. Vincent-St. Mary 48, Jackson 47

Jackson led almost the entire game but a strong fourth quarter effort by the Irish proved to be the difference as St. Vincent-St. mary came back to take a 48-47 win. Jackson led 10-7 at the end of the first quarter and expanded its lead to 15-9 when junior guard Brad DuPont nailed a three-point basket 2:49 before the half. Another three-pointer, this one by senior Eric Pace at the buzzer, sent the teams into the locker room with Jackson ahead 23-15.

The Irish started their comeback in the third quarter with Richard Johnson Jr. scoring 10 points to help cut the Polar Bears’ lead to 33-28.

Jackson struck first in the fourth quarter, but a one-handed up-and-in by DaVonte’ Beard sparked an 11-0 Irish run that gave them a 39-35 lead. With the teams tied at 47, the game ended at the free throw stripe after a controversial call, where Johnson split a pair with 1.9 seconds remaining to give the Irish the win.

Mark Henninger was the Player of the Game for Jackson (5-2), finishing with a game high 14 points, with Johnson winning the honor for the Irish (5-2) with 13 points.

Malvern 79, Hoban 54

Tyler Tucci, the 6’2 guard from the Malvern Hornets took over the game from the start as the Hornets matched up against the Hoban Knights (1-4) in the 2008 K. Jack Greynolds Memorial Classic.

Tucci and the Hornets outscored the Knights 21-2 in the first quarter and never looked back as they got the win 79-54. The Hornets (5-2) had 11 assists in the first half and went into halftime leading 38-21. Malvern continued their motion offense in the second half; along with constant pressure on the defensive end to take a 57-37 lead into the final quarter.

Hoban tried to cut into the lead by feeding the ball into their 6’3 center senior Pepper Sokol (14 points), however the Hornets were to strong and quick as they forced Hoban into missed shots and turnovers.

“We were clicking on all cylinders the whole game, we hit our open shots and didn’t let up the pressure,” Malvern Coach Dennis Tucci said.

Tucci’s 25 points paced the Hornet’s seven scorers, and Vince Larson finished with 12 rebounds.

GlenOak 80, Green 54

The GlenOak Golden Eagles, coached by Jack Greynolds Jr., broke the game wide open against the Green Bulldogs with a 23-2 run to start of the contest and went on to a convincing 80-54 victory.

Senior guard C.J McCollum led all scorers with 29 points, and teammate Storm Sanders added 21 to lead the Eagles (6-0). Green fell to 4-2.

The Eagles, forcing turnovers and running the fast break took a 47-21 lead into halftime.

“The first half of basketball was the best we have played all season, the second half not so good,” Greynolds said.

The Bulldogs made several mini runs in the second half as they were able to break the Eagles full court press as both teams scored 33 points in the half. Green committed 25 turnovers for the game, including three on consecutive possessions in the third quarter.

GlenOak controlled the boards 33-17, and connected on eight three-pointers.

Ben Pollak led Green in scoring with 18 points.

Smithville 65, Manchester 50

Day two of the classic tipped off with undefeated Smithville taking on the Manchester Panthers. A pair of three-point baskets by Tim Pfeiffer and Stephen Lewis gave Manchester an 8-7 lead with 4:13 left in the first quarter, but Smithville would jump back out front less than a minute later when Derek Orr was fouled on a layup and made the ensueing free throw. From there on, the Smithies would never look back, leading 17-13 at the end of the firat quarter and 30-20 after an 11-0 run midway through the second led to a 30-20 halftime lead. That lead would widen to 20 points heading into the fourth. Manchester’s Connor Mottice would score nine of his team-high 19 points in the fourth, but it wouldn’t be enough to avert a 65-50 loss to the Smithies who improved to 7-0 behind a stellar 23-point performance by senior All-Ohio guard Tyler Bates. Bates and Mottice won Player of the Game honors for their respective teams.

Kenmore 45, Canfield 41

In another game that ended at the free-throw line, Kenmore defeated Canfield 45-41 in game six of the classic. Seven different Kenmore players put points on the scoreboard in the first quarter to give Kenmore a 14-11 lead. Junior guard Charles Hearn tossed in six points for Kenmore in a defensive second quarter, but Canfield was able to cut the Kenmore lead to 23-22 at the half. A three-point basket by Mike Massaro with two seconds left in the third quarter had Kenmore ahead 34-29, but it was a fight down the stretch with the teams trading baskets with under two minutes to play. That’s when Hearn hit his biggest shot of the night, a three-pointer from downtown that gave Kenmore a 42-41 lead. Kenmore then did the job at the foul line with Hearn splitting a pair with 1:03 remaining, and Laquon Smith sinking a pair to nail down the win.

Mike Podolsky was the Player of the Game for Canfield, scoring 21 points while pulling down five rebounds. Justin Vrabel added nine points and nine boards for Canfield. Hearn was the player of the game for Kenmore, finishing with 15 points, while Smith led the rebounding with eight.

"Charlles and Laquon are our two veteran leaders.They are about the only ones who have true varsity experience on the team," said Kenmore Coach Dan Freeman afterwards.

The Classic concluded with the Norton-Copley and Barberton-Buchtel games (see separate stories) that dew the largest crowds of the two-day event which once again was a class act from start to finish thanks to the efforts of all those involved in the organization and preparation for the event, and the sponsors who made it possible.