The Ellwood City Wolverines boys basketball team went on the road Tuesday night and knocked off an undefeated Mohawk team in a battle of Class 3A Section 1 titans.
Both teams entered the evening with nine wins, but Ellwood City used a fourth quarter rally, outscoring Mohawk 25-15, to find its way to its 10th victory of the season.
Wolverine standout Joseph Roth scored 18 of his game-high 38 points in the final frame to help Ellwood City erase a six point deficit entering the 4th quarter.
Roth connected on two three points in the final frame and made 8-9 free throws to help Ellwood City earn the hard fought road victory.
The junior finished the game 14-17 from the charity stripe and also added 15 rebounds and five assists.
Will Nardone (nine points) and Colten Crizer (six points, seven assists, five rebounds) each connected from deep in the first quarter but the Wolverines trailed by one. Ellwood City trailed 34-30 at halftime as Mohawk used a 15-point first half by Jay Wrona to hold its advantage.
The Wolverines tighted up defensively on Wrona, holding the guard to only a single field goal and six points in the second half. Wrona finished with 21 points and six assists in defeat for the Warriors (9-1 overall).
Crizer and Chris Smiley (six points) each made a 3-pointer in the second half to help the Wolverines claw back into the contest.
Seven Wolverines scored in the game.
The teams combined for 50 combined free throw attempts in the rough and rugged section tilt that featured two first quarter technical fouls. The teams will meet again at Ellwood City on January 27th.
Ellwood City, now 10-2 overall (2-1 Section 3A-1) next will return home for a game Friday night versus Freedom (1-9 overall).
OF NOTE: The Wolverines girls basketball team (4-4 overall) will host rival Riverside (2-4 overall) on Thursday evening at 7:30 p.m. After losing its first two games of the season in a St. Joseph Tip-off Tournament, the Lady Wolverines rebounded with three consecutive non-section victories. The team split a pair of games in a Shenango Christmas Classic tournament and lastly fell to section foe Neshannock on Monday.
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