Weekend roundup: West Jeff boys roll in Mid-State League clash

By Chris Miles

Sports Editor

 

The winter portion of the high school sports season is at or just beyond the midway point and area teams are starting to fine tune for the postseason.

Teams that started the season well are trying to keep the momentum going, while those who got off to slower starts are hoping for better things down the stretch.

 

Boys basketball

West Jefferson 68,

Liberty Union 47

The Roughriders got back on the winning track Saturday with a convincing win at Liberty Union (2-10).

West Jefferson (7-2, 5-2) got off to a relatively slow start and trailed 11-9 at the end of the first quarter.

But things heated up big time in the second quarter as the squad outscored the host Lions 25-7 to gain some separation.

Four Roughriders scored in double figures led by the 14-point effort of Logan Stepp.

Kyle Rollins and Jonathan Flucke each finished with 12 and Seth Casto pumped in 11.

West Jefferson will go on the road Tuesday to Mechanicsburg.

The Roughriders will return home for games Friday against Berne Union and Saturday against Grove City Christian.

 

Madison-Plains 51,

Cedarville 41

The Golden Eagles saw their shots fall at a much better clip Saturday as they knocked off host Cedarville in a non-league contest.

A day after scoring just 29 points in a victory over McClain, Madison-Plains (7-5) scored 43 points through three quarters and waltzed to victory.

Alex Williams led the way by scoring 14 points (nine rebounds), Hunter Butin chipped in 10 points of his own and added three steals, in helping the Eagles race out to a 12-4 lead after one quarter and a 24-12 halftime advantage.

The difference expanded to 43-21 after three quarters, before the Eagles unloaded their bench and surrendered 20 points in the final frame.

“We probably could’ve scored more points but we decided there were kids that deserved more playing time,” coach Jeff Spradlin said.

MPHS will be back in action Friday when it travels to Washington to face the Blue Lions. When the two SCOL foes met earlier this season at Plains, the Eagles walked away with a hard-fought 65-62 victory.

“We played them back toward the beginning of the year and weren’t at full strength,” Spradlin said. “This is the first time all season where we have everyone back and on the same page.

“It’s always a tough game for us down there.”

 

Triad 69,

Shekinah Christian 64, 2OT

The Flames came up short in their contest Saturday at home falling after two overtime sessions.

Shekinah connected on nine shots from beyond the three-point arc compared to just three from Triad. But that the Flames were outscored from the free throw line 16-5.

The bulk of the Shekinah scoring came from the foursome of Mitchell Yoder (20 points), Michael Gingerich (13), Tyler Headings (13) and John Sheffel (10).

 

London 50,

Hillsboro 42

The Red Raiders went on the road Saturday and came home with a victory.

The win came just one night after a 58-51 loss at the hands of visiting Washington.

The boys will play at Fairbanks Tuesday in a non-league game.

 

Girls basketball

East Clinton 55,

London 41

The Red Raiders (3-10, 0-8) dropped an SCOL contest at home game Saturday against the visiting Astros.

London will step out of league play to host Dayton Medowdale Wednesday and will then welcome in Miami Trace Saturday.

 

Bishop Ready 54.

Jonathan Alder 33

The Lady Pioneers (3-10) fell behind early at Bishop Ready Saturday and never recovered.

The host Silver Knights took a 20-6 lead after one quarter and never let up.

No Alder player scored more than nine points. Ashley Day hit the nine point mark.

Alivia Milesky and Lacy Purdum each scored six points in the loss.

 

Berne Union 52,

West Jefferson 40

The Rockets put together a furious fourth quarter rally and knocked off the visiting Roughriders Friday.

West Jeff took a 33-28 lead into the final quarter, but Berne Union scored 24 of the game’s final 31 points to secure the victory.