It was a packed house at the Tolbert Gymnasium last night in Martins ferry. The Purple Riders hosted the Bellaire Big Reds in this semifinal battle to determine who moves on to play this Saturday at Harrison Central for the OVAC 3A crown. This is a well-known rivalry that did not disappoint, in terms of play by both teams.
Just looking at Martins Ferry in pre-game warm ups you could tell this team was ready to play. The other thing you can tell about Martins Ferry is they just look like a basketball team. Some high school teams get off a bus and they look like and you can tell their good athletes, but not necessarily a basketball team. You look at Ferry and you know they’re a basketball team. They are tall, with great length, and look very well-conditioned.
The Purple Riders did not waste any time either. Early on they jumped right on the Big Reds and opened up with a 7-0 lead. Next thing you know its 16-3 and by the end of the first quarter it ended up 18-6.
Senior Denali Jackson was on fire all night long scoring 6 in the first quarter. Toss in a pair of threes from Gaige O’Connell and Mason Redinger, as well as another basket from O’Connell. Then add in a pair of made free throws from Tev’n Williams and Alex Reese, all in the first, it gives you the 18 points the Purple Riders scored in the first.
Bellaire’s Jakob Dowling tried his best to keep the Big Reds in this one with a pair of threes in the first.
The second period seemed to be the Jackson show as he added another 10 points to his total on the night. Not to be outdone Bellaire’s Mayson Sochor made his presence known in the second with a three pointer and another 3 baskets giving him 9 points in the quarter. This took us to the half with Ferry still in the lead 33-24, but Bellaire fighting hard to stay in it.
Bellaire really battled all night with Ray Ray Pettigrew getting a pair of baskets in the third. Dowling added a couple more baskets and Sochor did with same, plus he made a couple of free throws. At times Bellaire was within 6 points of the Purple Riders. Coach Battista had his kids playing hard and working their butts off. The effort was absolutely there defensively all night for the Big Reds. There was no press as you could tell they wanted to slow things down a bit.
Even with all that effort it was a tall task. Martins Ferry’s Reese lead the way in the third with 7 points. Add in 4 by Williams and a bucket each from Redinger and Jackson and the third finished with Ferry still ahead 47-36.
The final period had the most scoring on the night with 17 coming from Ferry and 18 from Bellaire. Dowling added 8 more points giving him the team lead 20 on the night. Sochor added another 5 to his total points of 18. A couple made free throws from Ray Ray and Pook Littell rounded out Bellaire’s evening.
Ferry’s Jackson added 6 down the stretch to contribute to his team leading 24 points on the night. Jackson really looked amazing, especially late in the game. His dribbling skills and agility really set him apart last night as him seemed to effortlessly weave in and out and around Bellaire’s defense. Williams added another pair of buckets in the fourth taking him to a total of 15 on the night. Reese a big 6’5 sophomore looked strong last night and he added 5 more in the forth getting him to 13 total points and helping the Purple Riders earn a hard-fought victory over the Big Reds 64-54.
This advances the Purple Riders to the OVAC 3A Championship game this Saturday out at Harrison Central.
The three stars for Martins Ferry on the night Jackson, Williams, and Reese are all very impressive players, but the entire Martins Ferry team played well in this game. The ball movement was very good as well as the off-ball movement from what seemed to be every player. There’s a reason Martins Ferry is 15-1. They look like a well-oiled machine and I cannot wait to watch them play again Saturday.
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