Carrollton hoopsters and bowlers go cold at the wrong time

Sports can provide ecstasy and agony in equal doses.

Just ask the Carrollton boys basketball team.

After waiting until March 3 to begin postseason play, the fifth-seeded Warriors finally got to face off against the No. 4 seed Lisbon Beaver in a Div. IV East 1 District semifinal game at Steubenville High School.

After a rollercoaster of a game with a white-knuckle ending, Carrollton finally dispatched the Beavers 58-56, advancing the Warriors to the district championship game against defending state champ Maysville. Going in, the Warriors knew the game was going to be a dogfight, and they needed to be at the top of their game if they hoped to pull off the upset at Claymont High School March 6.

Perhaps it was the recent appearance of warm weather in northeast Ohio, but Carrollton’s ice-cold shooting woes felt like a blast of Arctic air as the Panthers rolled to a 72-44 victory, ending the Warriors’ season.

It was just the wrong time to go so cold. Perhaps it was nerves; after all, this was Carrollton’s first appearance in a district title game in 13 years. Whatever the reason, it was as if an invisible hand covered the Carrollton basket. The normally sharp-shooting Warriors were iced out everywhere — from three-point land and the free-throw line.

As Maysville raced to an early 26-14 lead to open the first quarter, Carrollton’s shooting issues became apparent. Shooting 5-for-27 from beyond the arc was bad enough, but truth be told, Maysville wasn’t too much better. The Panthers made one more trey, but attempted three fewer shots.

The big problem was the charity stripe. The Warriors went to the line 18 times to Maysville’s 23 trips. But where the Panthers went 20-for-23 (87%), Carrollton only made three free throws for an abysmal 16.7%. That discrepancy changed the entire complexion of the game as Maysville opened up a commanding 44-25 halftime lead, allowing the Panthers to cruise to the win in the second half.

Senior Hunter Allison was a bright spot as he scored 13 points, nabbed seven rebounds and dished out four assists for Carrollton (16-8). Tayvian Johnson added eight points while matching Allison with seven boards and four assists.

Gator Nichols led Maysville, which has now reeled off 24 consecutive wins following a season-opening loss to Cincinnati Taft, with 37 points.

As deflating as that game was, it cannot detract from the season Carrollton had. The Warriors were a tough out for most teams while also being wildly entertaining. Case in point: the district semifinal game versus Beaver Local.

After a hard-fought first quarter, Carrollton nursed a precarious 12-10 lead. In the ensuing period, the Warriors managed to create some breathing room, and as the teams filed off the court for halftime, Carrollton led 29-23.

The Warriors’ defense was smothering over the first three quarters as they held the Beavers to just 36 points, and by the fourth period, Carrollton was comfortably in front by 16 points.

Or so it would seem. Beaver embarked on a frenzied attack in the closing minutes, featuring three three-pointers in the last minute of play, including one at the buzzer. However, Tayvian Johnson and Tre Cameron were stellar from the free-throw line as they helped Carrollton fend off the Beavers.

Jayven Johnson scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds while Marcus Brooks added 13 points and 11 boards as both had double-doubles for Carrollton. Owen Hill scored 17 points to lead the Beavers (17-7).

Girls bowling

It was not the ending the Carrollton girls bowling team and Kaylee Russell had hoped for; that much is clear.

Carrollton, which made its 10th trip to Columbus Feb. 28 to compete in the OHSAA Div. II State Bowling Team Championships, went cold at the wrong time and did not advance to the round of eight. Instead, the Lady Warriors placed 13th out of 16 teams with a total pinfall of 2,967, 256 pins out of the cut.

Napoleon, which was seeded second following the qualifying round, was crowned the 2026 state champion after defeating No. 1 seed Coldwater 3-0 in Baker format games.

The tournament format had 16 teams and 16 individual qualifiers. The 16 teams then bowled three regular games, followed by five additional Baker-format games. The top eight then advanced to the match-play finals, which were a best-of-five Baker games.

Freshman Carrie Hawk posted the high series for the Lady Warriors with a 501, good for a 32nd-place tie, while senior Zara Bullock added a 483 series (39th place). Carrollton senior Kaylee Russell, who won the Div. II state individual championship as a sophomore, never found her footing as she rolled a 392 to finish in 79th place.

Despite the finish to the season, nothing can detract from the dominant season Russell and company had, going 16-0 and winning both the Eastern Buckeye Conference and the Stark County High School Bowling Conference’s American Division titles.