Roth Hits 1,000 Point Milestone, Wolverines Defeat Western Beaver

Joseph Roth joined rarefied air Thursday night.

The 6-foot-6, 195-pound big man poured in 25 points, cresting a 1,000 career point milestone, in the Wolverines 56-45 victory over Western Beaver.

Roth, who collected the 1,000th point with a bucket in the third quarter, now joins nine other Ellwood City players, including an other brother and former teammate Steve Antuono, on the list of 1,000 point scorers in Ellwood City Basketball history.

On Thursday, Ellwood City kept a steady lead on the host Golden Beavers, leading 26-18 at halftime, and withstanding a 18-point fourth quarter outburst by the Beavers to hold on for its victory.

source: ecwolverines.com

The Wolverines used an impressive game by Nate Williams who scored 13 of his 17 points (two 3-pointers) in the first half for Ellwood City. Chris Smiley (7 points), Jordan Keller (3 points), Colten Crizer (2 points) and Aaron Lake (2 points) rounded out the scoring for the Wolverines.

The junior Roth did most his damage in the second half, scoring 16 of his game-high 25 points after intermission and showed some dazzling passing skill Roth finished with 20 rebounds, five assists, and three steals on the evening. Entering the game, Roth was already one of the leading scorers in the WPIAL, averaging 26.8 points a game.

“He can handle it, shoot the 3 sometimes, get the ball in transition and go coast to coast,” said first-year head coach Scott Dibble in a Post-Gazette interview this week.

Levi Gray scored a team-high 15 points for Western Beaver (3-3 overall) in defeat.

Ellwood City (6-1 overall) will have a quick turnaround and again play visitor Friday evening at New Brighton in section play. The Wolverines are next home on Tuesday versus Neshannock.