EC Boys Basketball Defeat Lions, Fall to Vikings; Riverside Falls at Buzzer

The Ellwood City boys basketball team split two games this week, while Riverside boys team fell on a last second shot to Neshannock.

For the Wolverines, coming off its upset road victory over Aliquippa last Friday, two home games netted a victory over New Brighton on Tuesday and a home defeat to Hopewell on Wednesday.  A high powered scoring attack netted the victory on Tuesday that stretched the Wolverine win streak to three games.

On Tuesday, sophomores Steve Antuono and Alexander Roth combined to score 40 of the team’s 50 points in Ellwood City’s 50-40 victory over New Brighton. The Wolverines trailed by eight points after the first quarter but rebounded and pulled away late with a 20-point 4th quarter spurt.  Antuono finished with a game-high 23 points, including three 3-pointers, while Rother knocked home 17 points with his own three triples.  Ryan Gibbons (4 points), Nate Coonfare (4 points), and Dan Ditri (2 points) rounded out the scoring for the victory Wolverines.

Ellwood City saw its brief 3-game win streak snapped as they were defeated by Hopewell 55-46 on Wednesday.  Three Wolverines players scored double figures in defeat. Alexander Roth led the team with 13 points while Steve Antuono (10 points) and Milo Sesti (10 points) joined Roth in double-figures.  Nate Coonfare chipped in six points in defeat.  The Vikings extracted revenge as Ellwood City defeated Hopewell by ten points earlier in December.

The Ellwood City boys basketball team (5-2 overall) next travel to Beaver Falls for a road contest on Friday and will look to continue their strong play early in the season.  Antuono scored 61 points (20.3 ppg) during the team’s three game win streak.

For the Riverside, a last second bucket proved the margin of defeat as the Panthers fell on the road to Neshannock 43-41 in section play Tuesday night. Kevin Kolesar scored a team-high 11 points while Nathan Sciarro and Ben Hughes added 10 apiece for the Panthers (3-3 overall).  Neshannock is now 1-0, 4-1. Riverside next hosts Laurel on Friday night.