NEW PHILADELPHIA — Aggressive play at both ends of the floor paid off big-time for Barnesville High as the Shamrocks moved one win away from a berth in the regional by defeating West Muskingum, 54-42, in the Division III District semifinals at New Philadelphia High School on Tuesday.
On offense, Barnesville’s activeness resulted in a whopping 37 free throw attempts.
On defense, it tenaciousness kept West M — a team that had scored 82 points in a sectional final upset of top-seeded St. Clairsville just three nights earlier — to a mere 42 points and 35 percent shooting accuracy.
Throw in a solid 40-27 rebounding edge and it all adds up to win No. 13 for the Shamrocks, who will go after a coveted trip to the Athens Regional next week when taking on Garaway in the district championship game on Friday. Garaway pulled away from Martins Ferry in the second half of Tuesday’s first game for a 51-35 victory.
“We did a good job attacking the basket and finding the open man,” Barnesville coach Chris Pack said of his team’s offensive work. “Our vision of the court is getting better.
“Holding a team that scored 80 in their last game to 42 speaks to our defense,” continued Pack. “When we get to the spots we need to be in, we’re a good defensive team.”
Barnesville (13-10) trailed 9-8 with under two minutes to play in the opening quarter before a bank shot by senior A.J. Bohandy; two free throws by sophomore Tyler Fitzpatrick and a Bohandy layup put the ’Rocks on top, 14-9, at the initial break.
With all eight regulars seeing action throughout, Barnesville extended its lead to 30-21 by halftime, thanks in part to a 10-of-12 effort at the free throw line compared to a sub-par 8-of-18 showing by West M in the half.
The Tornadoes (10-12) managed to trim just two points of the Shamrocks’ lead in the third round, gaining a 10-8 edge to make it a 38-31 issue heading to the final chapter.
A close-range goal by junior Bryson Stephen followed by a “triple” from sophomore Preston Dornon pushed the BHS lead to a dozen, 43-31, with 6:48 remaining and the closest West M got the rest of the way was nine.
Barnesville went to the line 17 times in the fourth quarter and made just seven, but it was enough to keep the Tornadoes at arm’s length.
“We’ve got to improve on turnovers and foul shooting,” Pack said of his team’s 18 miscues and 21-of-37 effort at the charity stripe, “but we made them when we needed to tonight.”
Senior Dalton Smith topped the Shamrocks offensively with 15 points while Preston Dornon was right behind with 14 tallies and Stephen chipped in eight. Fitzpatrick pulled down 11 rebounds for the winners while Bohandy had eight, Smith grabbed seven and Stephen had six. Smith also dished out four assists and Preston Dornon had three steals.
BHS was 16-of-37 from the field (43 percent).
“We feel good about our rotation,” he said. “We don’t lose a beat through eight guys, and a lot of teams don’t have that luxury.”
For West M, senior Austin Brock was the lone double-figure scorer with 14, with senior Chris Brown tallying seven while grabbing 10 rebounds and handing out three assists.
The Tornadoes were 16-of-46 from the field and were charted with 17 miscues.
In the opener, Garaway and Ferry played to a 9-9 first quarter standoff before the Pirates jumped on top 17-9 mid way through the second period only to have the Purple Riders rebound and get even at 17-all by halftime.
Garaway took control in the third period with an 18-10 edge, including 10 points by Ryan Troyer, to move in front, 35-27.
Junior Paul Honigford led Garaway (17-5) with 17 points while Ryan Troyer had 14.
For Ferry, Marco Ricchetti tallied 15; Jordan Burress netted 10 and Michael Roach had eight.
“We know when we bring our ‘A’ game we can compete with anyone,” Barnesville’s Pack said when looking ahead to the district title game. “We have a lot of respect for Garaway, but I think we’ll be a force to be reckoned with on Friday.”
NEXT— Barnesville and Garaway square off Friday at 7 p.m. for the D-III District championship and a spot in next week’s regional tournament in Athens.
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