Madzia’s 39 not enough in double overtime

BY D.J. WATSON Harrison News-Herald Sports Writer

CADIZ—Jace Madzia turned in a stellar performance last Friday night in a major OVAC 4A showdown. The only problem was, so did Weirton's Colin "G" Cross. On a night that brought back memories of high-scoring

Kobe Mitchell running the floor in a Huskies uniform, Madzia and Cross combined for a total of 84 points. Cross finished with 45 to lead the Red Riders to an 82-77 victory.

The two teams entered the evening in a dead heat as far as the OVAC 4A championship standings were concerned. The Riders third, and the Huskies fourth, with the winner set to all but lock in their position in the 4A bracket. The cutoff looms after this coming Tuesday's games, and Weir has now jumped into the two line with the victory over the Huskies.

Harrison Central is hanging on to the fourth and final ticket, with a rankings average of 33.286. The Beaver Local Beavers sit in fifth, with an average of 30.375 (as of January 25, 2023).

The Red Riders opened up a number of multi-possession leads throughout the night, but the Huskies continued to have an answer. Most notable to end the third, Corey Lyons banked in a triple at the buzzer to give the Riders a 49-40 lead. The Lyons connection capped off an 11-4 scoring run to close out the frame. Momentum had certainly shifted in favor of the visitors, but momentum swings in high school basketball are prevalent, and little did anyone know, the Huskies were primed to swing things the other direction in the fourth.

A Hayden Cassidy long ball cut the lead to 57-51 with 4:49 remaining in regulation. Moments later, Cassidy showcased his quarterbacking skills, finding Cabot Arbaugh on a fastbreak layup. The lead now cut to five at 61-56. Cassidy once again worked the three-point line, cutting the Riders' advantage to two (61-59) with 1:55 to go. Finally, with 38 seconds left on the fourth quarter clock, Madzia drained two free throws to knot the game at 63-63. The long night of playing catchup was over; the Huskies had tied the game.

Weir elected to dribble out the last possession, running off 31 seconds of the game clock only to miss the rim with the final shot. In overtime, a Madzia free throw gave the Huskies a brief lead at 64-63, but the Riders responded. Cross and Madzia took over the game at this point, trading free throw trips while exchanging the lead for their respective teams an exciting six times over the course of the first overtime period. Cassidy would once

Six basketball seniors celebrated

BY ED BANKS

Harrison News-Herald Sports Writer

CADIZ—On Monday night in Cadiz, the Harrison Central Lady Huskies varsity basketball team and coaches celebrated the senior members of the 2022-23 squad. Six members strong, the ceremony saw Maddy Butler, Kayln Ledger, Pierce Jazmyne, Cali Lewis, Emma Fischer, and McKenzie Harbold all paraded and presented with flowers and other gifts as a tribute for their years of playing basketball for Harrison Central.

The game itself was a different story due to Maddy Powers of Malvern. The Ohio topranked prep school athlete scored 32 points on the night. While totally anticipated, Power’s offensive performance will certainly keep her in the top 5 scorers in the state.

The Huskies lost to the visitors by a score of 55 to 35 but credit their offense to top senior scorers Emma Fischer who had 9 points, and Maddy Butler and McKenzie Harbold, who together split 16 points evenly. Angi Ferri and Danica Rensi each had 3 points, while Kayln Ledger and Maddy Sedgmer each scored 2 points.