Huskies drop road games at East Liverpool, Beaver Local

The Huskies wrapped up their Columbiana County commitment last week, traveling to East Liverpool and Beaver Local in back-to-back outings. First Tuesday against the Potters and then again Friday against the Beavers, the season-long trends of not holding onto leads and inconsistent offensive production late in games came back to haunt the Huskies, who are now 3-8 on the year. The Potters topped the Huskies 57-44, while the Beavers prevailed 63-58.

Inside Potter Fieldhouse, the Huskies literally raced out to a 16-3 lead through the end of the first quarter. Harrison guard Bryson Kamarec was spot-on early, knocking down two triples and two buckets to score 10 of his team-high 17 in the first eight minutes. However, the game is four quarters and the Potters firmly reminded the Huskies, who average 12.2 first-quarter points per game, of that in the second frame.

The Potters matched the Huskies and opened the second on a 15-0 run. A timeout from the Harrison bench came at the 3:54 mark; to that point, the home team had poured in nine unanswered. But the break in action did little to aid the Huskies in finding the bottom of the net. The Potters would go on to score six more before the Huskies got their lone points of the eight-minute stretch; a Kamarec long ball good enough to give the Huskies a 19-18 advantage at the break. The 13-point lead erased, the Huskies would need to score consistently to keep pace with East Liverpool (6-4) in the second half. The two teams were tied with under two minutes remaining in their first meeting in Cadiz, so it didn’t seem a task too tall. Unfortunately, the Potters carried their second-quarter momentum into the second half, leading the Huskies 37-27 after three before comfortably riding out a double-digit victory. The Huskies worked the deficit down to seven in the fourth at one point but would get no closer.

Three nights later it was a very similar one-hour bus ride, as the campuses of East Liverpool and Beaver Local are separated by just eight miles, and unfortunately a very familiar result when the final buzzer sounded for the Huskies. It was close, competitive and maybe most important, it was winnable. The Beavers are 10-2, leading the Buckeye Eight South division and the Class 4A of the OVAC, and the Huskies led the heavy favorites in the fourth quarter. For the fifth time this season, the Huskies held a fourth-quarter lead in a game they wouldn’t go on to win. Trailing 46-40 after three, the Huskies scored the first seven of the fourth to take a 47-46 lead. With roughly five minutes remaining, the Beavers regained the lead and didn’t relinquish it through the final whistle. A Kamarec drive in the lane would make it a one-possession game at 56-53 with 1:30 remaining, but the Beavers responded by icing the game away from the free-throw line. As a team, the Beavers shot 11 of 14 from the stripe in the fourth quarter. Aside from Kamarec’s 26 against the Beavers, the Huskies got balanced scoring production from the supporting cast. Brady Hyre netted 10 marks, while freshman Colson Crothers dropped nine. Jacob Quito (5), Austin Dulkoski (4), Cooper Thompson (3) and Lance Smith (1) rounded out the book.