Sports
Bank open late for Petrecca & Co.
Senior’s last-second shot off glass notches W for Perry, L for Geneva
GENEVA — Thanks, Erik Petrecca, your team really needed that one.
A basketball season that has been marked by all kinds of injuries, illnesses and other factors took on a joyful aspect for at least one night as Perry’s senior guard banked in a jumper from just inside the foul line with one second remaining to give the Pirates a 44-42 non-conference victory over the Geneva Eagles on Tuesday night at Geneva.
“Yes, that’s my first gamewinner,” Petrecca said with a big smile. “I was just trying to get inside. I didn’t realize how close the time was. I just knew I had to get a shot off.”
All the Geneva forces could do was shake their heads in amazement and admiration.
“The kid hit a tough shot. Did he bank it in?” Geneva coach John Marhefka said.
Assured he had, he added, “The backboard is your friend.”
Perry coach Chad Frazier said Petrecca was doing what he was told coming out of a timeout with 18.2 seconds remaining.
“We told (the players) to penetrate the gaps,” he said. “Erik hit a big shot. Good for him.”
Petrecca’s big shot overshadowed what appeared to be a clutch 3-pointer with 20 seconds left by Geneva’s Dillon Puckrin. It appeared Puckrin had sent the game into overtime as Perry (5-11, 0-10 in the Chagrin Valley Conference Chagrin Division) struggled for the first few seconds of its possession out of a timeout before Petrecca made his move.
“It came down to getting stops,” Marhefka said. “Dillon hit a great shot, but we had to get a stop.”
Petrecca’s play sealed an effort for a Pirate team that took one more body blow in a series of them before it ever got to Geneva when junior forward Anthony Kukwa, who is fifth in the Star Beacon area in scoring at 17 points per game and is second in rebounding at 10.7 per game, was left home to deal with a case of the flu.
Frazier looked at it as a testament to his team’s grit.
“This is absolutely a big win for us,” he said. “These guys have really stuck together. I’m real proud of the way these guys have pushed to win.”
There were plenty of opportunities for Perry to give up and for Geneva (6-11, 3-8 in the Premier Athletic Conference) to run away. The Eagles shot 56.3 percent in the first half, but could only build a 23-18 halftime lead as the Pirates refused to crumble.
Geneva appeared to have distanced itself from Perry after three quarters by building a 36-29 lead. But then the Eagles seemed to go to sleep offensively, getting off only two shots in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter.
Perry took advantage of that to take charge and reel off eight unanswered points. Nolan Farrell’s steal and layup with 3:50 remaining put Perry ahead for the first time at 37-36.
“We started passing the ball a lot better in the fourth quarter,” Frazier said. “Once we cracked their 1-3-1, we did better.”
“We got a little tentative,” Marhefka said. “I was surprised we got tentative.”
After that, neither team had a lead of more than two points. Perry’s Brennan Sailors, who led all players with 15 points and six rebounds, scored a conventional three-point play with 1:29 left, but Geneva’s Tyler Erb, who led his team with 11 points, hit the second on a one-and-one foul situation with 1:11 left. Max Zitney pushed Perry’s lead back to 42-39 with a foul-line jumper with 50 seconds left, but Puckrin’s trey tied the game and set the stage for Petrecca’s big moment.
Perry’s also got 10 points from Ben Perko.
The Pirates have the oddity of going 5-1 in its non-conference games this season and 0-10 in CVC play. Frazier hopes his team might be inspired to correct that matter, with or without Kukwa in the lineup.
“We missed Anthony dearly, but I think it’s good for our team to see they can do it without him,” Frazier said. “Brennan showed he had the ability tonight and so did a lot of the other guys.
“I think it was good for our other guys to see they can do it. The other guys stepped up tonight.”
- Sports
-
-
Monday Morning QB: Conneaut D gets an A
The Conneaut defense more than held up its end of the bargain in a 14-0 win over Lakeside on Friday night at Municipal Stadium
-
Aaron awesome in W
Aaron Pocatko ran for 129 yards and two touchdowns and Dylan Fitchet backed him up with 82 yards rushing, 23 yards receiving, including a touchdown catch and conversion reception, as the Buckeye Lower Gray Warriors defeated the Conneaut Lower Steelers, 28-7.
-
Outdoors Insider, with Dale Sunderlin: It’s Miller’s time to manage District 3
Former Division of Wildlife Law Enforcement Supervisor Doug Miller has been named the new District Manager for Wildlife District 3 in Northeast Ohio ,according to the ODNR Division of Wildlife.
-
High School Volleyball, 2010 — Match game
Traditionally, volleyball in the area has produced some of the highest level of performance of any sport. The 2009 season was no exception. In fact, it was one of the best in a long time.
-
A Don McCormack column: Spartan gridders in spotlight
Paying a rare Sunday morning visit to the variety store...
Spartan fever
Talk about perfect timing! Coming off the biggest Conneaut football victory in several years, it was reported to us yesterday that Spartan fans who missed out on seeing the inspiring effort by coach Ken Parise's Spartans in their 14-0 victory against former Northeastern Conference rival Lakeside on Friday night at the new Municipal Stadium will have opportunites to see the triumph, after all. -
Boczar dashes to daylight
Garett Boczar’s 60-yard touchdown run provided the only score for the Jefferson Lower Falcons Red’s 6-0 victory over the Madison Lower Cowboys to keep them undefeated in Buckeye Community Midget Football League action Saturday.
-
Clifford keeps rolling
Perry’s Abbie Clifford continued her sizzling pace at Saturday’s Mentor Invitational, but the Pirate girls could only manage a sixth-place finish in the meet. Meanwhile, the Perry boys matched that performance in their portion of the meet.
-
McBride lets it ride
It’s still very early in the season, but several area cross country runners are already beginning to make their move, if Saturday’s performance in Madison’s U Wanna Come Back Invitational at the Perry Outdoor YMCA is any indication.
-
High School Football Statistics:
NON-CONFERENCE
Conneaut 14, Lakeside 0 -
Scholastic Schedule
SATURDAY, SEPT. 4
Football
n VASJ at University (1)
Volleyball
n Madison at Beachwood (10)
n Beaumont at Riverside (11:30) - More Sports Headlines
-
