Minerva boys basketball heats up as postseason approaches

Don’t look now, but the Minerva Lions are catching fire at just the right time.

As the regular season winds down and teams turn their attention towards the OHSAA sectionals tournament, the Lions, who’ve had a bit of a rollercoaster season, have embarked upon a winning streak. And with recent nonconference wins over Canton South and Tusky Valley, as well as an Eastern Buckeye Conference victory over Marlington, that streak now stands at five games.

First up on the docket was a Feb. 10 home game against Canton South. The Lions opened a six-point lead by halftime over the Wildcats before stepping on the gas in the second half for a comfortable 61-44 victory.

Minerva outscored Canton South 34-23 over the final two quarters to run away with the game as the Wildcats had no answer for the sharpshooting of Owen Shick, who led all scorers with 22 points – including five from three-point range. Rowen Hoffee added 11 for the Lions, while Ronan Lang paced Canton South (6-12) with 17 points.

On Friday the 13th, Minerva hosted Tusky Valley, and it was the Trojans who had all the bad luck as they went down to defeat at the hands of the Lions, 69-51.

Minerva pounced all over Tusky Valley from the opening whistle, forging a 38-23 advantage by intermission. The Trojans’ moribund offense came to life in the third period, scoring 22 points, but the Lions slammed the door shut with a 13-5 fourth-quarter run to put the game out of reach.

Minerva had four scores in double figures as Shick and Hoffee each posted 13 points, and Skyler Lab and Isaak Morckel scored 10 points apiece, respectively. For Tusky Valley (9-11), Cole Kuykendall scored a game-high 18 points.

The very next day, the Lions hosted Marlington in the final game of the EBC season, and Minerva, powered by a strong second quarter, knocked off the Dukes, 60-41. Following a tight first quarter, the Lions gave themselves some breathing room with a 19-8 second-quarter run, and at halftime, Minerva led 31-19 and never looked back.

Hoffee paced the Lions (12-9, 5-5) with 18 points, while Shick added 13 as each player sank three treys, respectively. Carter Frank led the Dukes (4-16, 2-8) with 11 points.

Bowling

The Lions wrapped up their regular season against EBC rival Carrollton at Minerva Bowl, and both the boys’ and girls’ teams lost.

However, history was made as Owen Frazier finished the season with a final calculated average of 222.24, which broke the previous record of 217, set way back in 2012. The prior record holder?

None other than current Minerva coach Nick Embrogno.

“I have never seen someone so determined to get something,” Embrogno said of Frazier. “I have held that record for 14 years and this is the first season that I was nervous that I was going to lose it. However, if I were to lose it to anyone, I am so happy it was to Owen. I'm hoping his new record lasts as long as mine did.”

Moving on to the OHSAA Div. II Sectional tourney, held Feb. 10 at St. Clair Lanes, the Lions failed to advance, missing the cut by 133 pins in tenth place. However, there is a silver lining there, and it also involves Frazier. Bowling a 593 series, he placed eighth overall individually and third among bowlers not on an advancing team. Translation: Frazier lives to bowl another day as he makes it to Districts.

The boys weren’t the only ones on the lanes as the Lady Lions competed in the Div. II Sectional tourney Feb. 11, hosted by Boulevard Lanes. And they punched their ticket to the District tourney by virtue of grabbing the sixth and final spot, nudging out Barnesville by 18 pins.

The Lady Lions may have barely made the cut, but Bailey Wood had no such problem as she finished first individually with a 550 series, edging out Carrollton’s Kaylee Russell by two pins.

Girls Basketball

It was a mixed bag for the Lions as they split their two games on the week, losing a Feb. 9 game at Fairless but rebounding to defeat Indian Valley on the road Feb. 12.

In the 47-42 win over the Braves, Rachel Benedict (14 points) and Peyton Beaumariage (11) did most of the heavy lifting as Minerva (5-17) trailed by three points at the half, but outscored Indian Valley (6-16) 22-14 in the second half to claim victory.

Against Fairless, the Lions held a 13-10 lead after the first quarter, but were held scoreless in the second and third periods as the Falcons scored 20 points on their way to a 41-22 win.

Ireland Kirkpatrick led Minerva with 11 points, while Willa Shick added six. Bailee Espenschied led Fairless (13-9) with 15 points.

Wrestling

The Lions grounded the Aviators in an EBC dual meet Feb. 12, winning 45-27.

Winning bouts for Minerva included Alex Wright (106), who won by fall at 1:43. At 120, Shawn Weaver won by an 11-0 major decision, while at 132, Kolton Almasy secured a pin in 1:58. At 138, Cole Sivy registered a tech fall, and at 144, Colton Godsey logged a pin in 1:43.

Jason Sivy (150) scored a tech fall in 5:46, and at 165, Lincoln Wallace scored a pin in just 58 seconds. Enoch Brodzenski scored a 12-4 major decision at 190, and at 215, Timothy Kirkpatrick posted an 8-3 decision.