BERLIN, Ohio—Day three of the 13th annual Classic in the Country started with a temperature that could only manage single digits out of the gate Monday morning. Things inside the Perry Reese Center were considerably warmer with all the action in the final seven games of the renowned event honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as well as the late Coach Reese.
Making their first appearance were eight teams who had yet to see action in the course of the weekend. Lakota West, Reynoldsburg, Solon, Pickerington Central, West Holmes and host Berlin Hiland all made their second 2016 classic appearance during Monday’s action.
To see game wrap ups from days one and two, follow the links below.
http://www.bluestarmedia.org/classic-country-day-one/
http://www.bluestarmedia.org/classic-in-the-country-day-two-2/
The following is a stat synopsis of all seven games on the final day of the Classic in the Country 2016.
MASSILLON JACKSON 64 – WESTERVILLE SOUTH 47
First up on the final day was the matchup between Massillon Jackson and Westerville South. Westerville South held the slight one point edge after the first period before Jackson went on a 22 – 8 run in the second to take a 36 – 23 lead at the half. Things didn’t get better in the second half for the Wildcats and they saw the deficit grow to 17 before the final buzzer sounded. A 15 percent gap in field goal percentage was the kiss of death as they were able to connect on just 16 of 52 attempts from the floor. In the win, the Polar Bears knocked down 22 of 48 shots including 8 for 22 from three point distance. They also held an 8 rebound edge in total boards. Highly regarded sophomore Taylor Mikesell led the way with 25, 18 of which came on her 6 of 11 shooting from deep. Senior Caitlin Tyler added 20 more on 7 of 8 shooting and also grabbed 18 rebounds for the double – double. Junior Destinee Lee chipped in 10 more. Senior Kaylah Ivey and sophomore Casey George each had 10 in the loss for Westerville. Dynamic freshman point guard Sommer Pitzer added 9 of her own along with 4 assists and 5 rebounds.
CINCINNATI GLEN ESTE 53 – GILMOUR ACADEMY 51
The day’s second game went down to time management and fouls before Glen Este was able to hold off Gilmour Academy 53 – 51 for the win. The game saw five lead changes and each team outscoring the opposition in two of four periods. Glen Este led by one after eight minutes and by five at the break. Gilmour got one back in the third and their three pointer at the buzzer closed the final margin to just two still on the short end. Neither team held any substantial statistical advantage but the Trojans were 6 of 9 from behind the arch while the Lancers went 5 of 18. Senior Kelly Simon posted 16 in the win while sophomore Jasmine Hale added 15 and senior Courtney Vespie contributed 10. Naz Hillmon, a 6-2 sophomore forward had a double – double of 12 points and 16 boards in the loss. Junior Emily Kelley finished with 12 while classmate Sydney Diedrich had 10.
SIDNEY 58 – NORTH ROYALTON 44
North Royalton jumped out to a quick 19 – 12 lead over Sidney after one period but things went downhill from there. The Yellow Jackets woke up and outscored the Bears by 3, 10 and 8 in the next three quarters finishing with the 14 point 58 – 44 win. Sidney was impressive from the floor shooting a combined 69.6 in the second half and ultimately 52.1 percent for the game. They also held an 8 rebound and 3 turnover edge for the game. Aggressive small forward Sylvia Hudson went for 29 points on 14 of 18 shooting in the win. Junior post Celena Taborn shot 5 for 10 while posting her own 10 points. Freshman forward Taiyer Parks had 22 in a losing effort while going 9 of 18 from the floor for North Royalton. Senior guard Julianne Lebo added 12 more.
LAKOTA WEST 44 – REYNOLDSBURG 25
Lakota West and Reynoldsburg set a new standard for offensive futility in the first half combining for 9 of 53 shooting and just 21 points between them. Lakota woke up first in the third outscoring the Raiders 20 to 8 on their way to a 44 – 25 win. The Firebirds “lit it up” at 32.1 percent for the game while Reynoldsburg could manage just 20.8 on an 11 of 53 showing. The Firebirds controlled the boards by 12 while both teams posted over 20 turnovers. Senior Nia Staples again led the way with 17 while fellow 2016 grad Lexi Wasan added 10 on a 5 for 10 shooting effort. Nobody hit double digits for Reynoldsburg. Eye catching sophomore guard Adrian Crockwell finished with 9 points and 4 rebounds but turned it over 8 times out of the team’s total of 21.
PICKERINGTON CENTRAL 72 – SOLON 55
Solon was once again without injured post Valencia Myers and in contrast to their first game couldn’t seem to find their way defensively. Pickerington Central had a big hand in that shooting 56.4 percent from the floor and 6 for 10 from deep on the way to a convincing 72 – 55 win. The Tigers outscored the Comets in every quarter and at one point held a 22 point lead, the result of a 15 – 2 run. Four players produced double figures for Pickerington. Sophomore Bexley Wallace and junior Alexa Blake both had 14 points. Blake was 4 of 6 from three point range while Wallace was 7 for 8 from the floor. Junior Elizabeth Hicks had 12 and freshman standout point guard Madison Greene had 11 points and 7 assists. Solon got another monster performance from junior guard Dee Bekelja. Shooting 13 of 18 from the floor and 3 for 5 from long, she had 31 for the Comets and for good measure, added 10 rebounds to the cause. Junior wing / guard Alexis Stover added 12 more points in the loss.
WEST HOLMES 50 – WARREN HOWLAND 28
West Holmes led from start to finish in their game with Howland. They outscored the Lady Tigers in all four quarters by 5, 7, 6 and 4 on their way to a 50 – 28 win. They shot just 38 percent from the floor but controlled the glass by 13 and committed six less turnovers ultimately converting the Howland miscues into 20 points of their own. Seniors Brittleigh Macaulay and Hannah Clark led the way in the win with 18 and 13 respectively. Macaulay shot 8 for 14 while Clark connected on 5 of her 14 attempts. Sara Price was the only Lady Tiger in double figures. The junior wing had 14 on 6 for 15 shooting and led the team with 5 rebounds. As a team Howland shot just 29.3 percent and committed 19 turnovers.
CANTON GLENOAK 53 – BERLIN HILAND 47
One of the more competitive games of this year’s Classic was the Grand Finale between Hiland and GlenOak. The Golden Eagles had a solid 27 – 15 edge at the half with Hiland struggling to find the range while shooting just 24 percent as a team. In the third, the host Hawks outscored GlenOak 17 to 9 and made the homestretch a game of possessions. Unfortunately they couldn’t reclaim the lead and ended up on the short end of a 53 – 47 score. Junior guard Dai’Shona Polk was impressive in the win with a 10 for 14 performance from the floor leading to 25 points. Senior Payton Brown added 16 points and 7 rebounds. For Hiland, Angela Troyer was solid again leading the way with 15 points including 2 for 3 shooting behind the arch. Sophomore Kennedy Schlabach got all 12 of her points from deep hitting 4 for 12 on her long ball attempts and chalking up four assists.
