BOYS BASKETBALL: ’Dogs host Eagles to open tough week

Local Sports

Discussion

January 17, 2012

By Alex Sibley Meadville Tribune The Meadville Tribune Tue Jan 17, 2012, 07:00 AM EST

January 17, 2012 7:00 a.m. — It’s make or break time for the Meadville Bulldogs.

Tonight’s game against Grove City at the House of Thrills begins a stretch of three games against cream-of-the-crop opponents in Region 6. The Bulldogs currently sit at 5-1 in conference play and will travel to Franklin and Hickory by week’s end. Meadville enters play this week tied for second place in the region with Hickory, a half-game back of first-place Franklin.

But first thing is first in this big week of basketball for Meadville and that’s the Grove City Eagles. Meadville head coach Norm Price didn’t beat around the bush when it came to talking about the challenge his team faces.

“I told the kids, this is going to be one of the biggest games they’ve ever played,” Price said. “Every game in this league is big. But I think Grove City, the Franklins and Hickorys; those teams are probably a little better than we are right now.”

The Eagles are 4-1 — a half game behind the ’Dogs for second place — in region play and recently had an eight-game win streak snapped on Friday with a 63-48 loss against Franklin. They also hold a 9-2 overall mark with their only other loss coming to Girard College out of Philadelphia.

The ’Dogs biggest disadvantage will come in the post. The Eagles possess a Shaq-like player in forward Jordan Patterson, who is around 6-foot-6 and tips the scale at over 300 pounds.

“That’s a huge issue for us,” Price said. “Obviously, we don’t have a matchup for that, so that’s a huge issue.”

While down low coverage is going to be an issue, stopping what Price called “the best player in the league right now” could also give the Bulldogs fits.

Torin Smith has been the anchor for the Eagles recently. Most notably, he connected on three 3-pointers to lift Grove City to a crucial 56-43 win over region rival Farrell on Jan. 6.

“He’s just been on fire,” Price said, “averaging 23, 24 points a game. They’re extremely well-coached.”

But the Bulldogs have some firepower themselves. In their last two games — wins over Titusville and Farrell last week — the team has received stellar play from a pair of guards.

Donte Hollingsworth and Zak Price have been arguably the best Bulldogs on the roster in recent games. Against Titusville on Jan. 10, Hollingsworth dropped in 21 points, while Price, playing with a protective facemask thanks to three stitches above his right eye, netted 23 in a win at Farrell.

Throw in the play of Artrel Foster, Fred Epps and Trevor Clune, who may be a game time decision with an ankle injury suffered at Farrell, and the Bulldogs have one of the best run-and-gun offenses in the region.

In their last two games, the Bulldogs’ offense racked up 157 points. And with a slew of important games on the horizon, now is the time to make an impact in the region.

“We’ve got ourselves in position,” Price said. “Now, we have to be ready to go.”

Text Only

Local Sports

DISTRICT 10 BASEBALL: Big Reds shut down Lions
SLIPPERY ROCK — The Linesville baseball team, with its mix of experienced and lesser-experienced players, has been capable of two different kinds of games this season.
The first is the sharp, skillful kind of effort the Lions put together Monday in their 10-7 win over Cochranton in the District 10 Class A quarterfinals.

May 26, 2012
DISTRICT 10 BASEBALL: Mercyhurst outslugs Lake in D-10 semis
ERIE — After a District 10 Class A championship game appearance last year, the Conneaut Lake baseball team lost four seniors who were important to the team’s success.
Even though the talented quartet graduated and Lake featured just three seniors this year, the team came together and reached the district semifinals. The team’s end result, and the school’s last game as a baseball team due to Conneaut Lake, Conneaut Valley, and Linesville consolidating into Conneaut Area Senior High, was a 15-4 loss in six innings to Mercyhurst Prep on Friday at Ainsworth Field in Erie.

May 26, 2012
DISTRICT 10 BASEBALL: Panthers edge Tigers, reach D-10 title game
ERIE — The Saegertown baseball team made an art form of compiling mercy rule wins this season. Nearly all of the Panthers’ 20 regular season victories were by 10 runs or more, as double-digit hits and runs scored were the norm.
The playoffs have been a different beast for the defending District 10 Class AA champion Cats, but they continue to find ways to win.

May 26, 2012
BOYS VOLLEYBALL: Cardinals come back from losers’ bracket to win D-10 title
The very first word spoken by Cochranton boys volleyball coach Brad Custead in his post-match interview will sum up Friday night’s District 10 championship finale better than all the words that follow it.
“Incredible,” he said.

May 26, 2012
Bulldogs' trio ready for state track and field meet
Meadville’s best now look to be among Pennsylvania’s best as Paige Kassab, Chaykala Lindsey and Heather Sternby compete in the PIAA Class AAA Track and Field Championships, which run Friday and Saturday at Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium.

May 24, 2012
D-10 SOFTBALL: Tigers no-hit in loss to Braves
HARBORCREEK TOWNSHIP — The Maplewood softball team had no answer for Iroquois starting pitcher Megan Martin on Tuesday during the District 10 Class AA quarterfinals on the campus of Penn State Behrend in Erie.
Martin worked around two errors during a no-hitter that included zero walks. And the Braves’ offense was sure to back her up during Iroquois’ 10-0 victory in five innings.

May 23, 2012
D-10 BASEBALL: Prep rolls past ’Dogs in four innings
ERIE — Hitting, they say, is contagious. And the Cathedral Prep baseball team had a full-blown outbreak against Meadville on Tuesday at Ainsworth Field, notching 13 base hits in a 16-1, four-inning rout of the Bulldogs during opening round action of the District 10 Class AAA playoffs.

May 23, 2012
DISTRICT 10 BASEBALL: Lake storms past Eisenhower
ERIE — The Conneaut Lake baseball team started off its postseason with a bang. Numerous bangs, actually.
The Indians (12-7) slugged 19 base hits while bumping off Eisenhower 15-5 in six innings during opening round action in the District 10 Class A playoff tournament Monday at Ainsworth Field.

May 22, 2012
DISTRICT 10 BASEBALL: Lions top Cards
ERIE — If this story had to describe every clutch hit, gutsy pitch, run-saving defensive play, or momentum-shifting moment during Monday’s playoff classic between Region 3 foes Cochranton and Linesville; there wouldn’t be room for much else in today’s newspaper.
The bottom line is: You should have been there.

May 22, 2012
BOYS VOLLEYBALL: Bulldogs stop Trojans to cap perfect region slate
Meadville junior Matt Izbinski laced a hard spike down the line, and so ended the regular season for the Bulldogs boys volleyball team — with a 3-1 win over McDowell, and a 9-0 run through Region 1. It all summed up on Friday night at the House of Thrills.

May 19, 2012
More Local Sports Headlines

Two of five Americans are on Facebook. It seems that everyone has strong opinions of either liking the program ... or despising it. As for you:

Local Sports

Search Results

Discussion

BOYS BASKETBALL: ’Dogs host Eagles to open tough week

Two of five Americans are on Facebook. It seems that everyone has strong opinions of either liking the program ... or despising it. As for you:

Site Map

Contact Us