Jan 10, 2025
photo by: Kim North
Steubenville’s Cole Bowers (5) drives to the basket as Martins Ferry’s Elijah Roby (24) defends during Thursday night’s game inside Tolbert Gymnasium.
MARTINS FERRY – It’s always nice when a basketball team can go on the road and find a way to pick up a victory. Steubenville did just that Thursday night.
Big Red (10-1) built a huge lead in the first half and then watched Martins Ferry battle back to within seven late in the third quarter before using a 13-3 run to start the fourth quarter en route to a 71-46 triumph inside Tolbert Gymnasium.
“It wasn’t pretty,” Steubenville head coach Mike Haney said of the win. “When we make things happen with our defense and get some easy layups, we play pretty well.”
Steubenville led 12-0 as the Purple Riders (3-7) turned the ball over on each of their first five possessions.
“You can’t afford to start the game like we did against a team like Steubenville,” Martins Ferry head coach Derek Edwards said. “You can’t afford to get a technical (for not having a player’s name in the scorebook).”
Santino Haney, son of the Big Red head coach, ignited for 10 of his team-high 16 points in the second quarter as the visitors led 38-19 with 2-minutes, 50-seconds left in the first half.
However, an 8-0 run to end the first half allowed Martins Ferry to claw its way back to within 38-27 at the break. Alex Reese and Tev’n Williams had four each in the spurt.
After back-to-back triples by Aiden Davis bumped the Steubenville lead back to 46-30, Martins Ferry came right back with a 9-0 run to make it close, 50-41, after three quarters.
Big Red netted 13 of the first 16 points of the fourth quarter to pull away for good.
“It wasn’t bad for the week we’ve had,” Coach Haney added. “We haven’t had any snow days but we did have a game canceled on Tuesday.”
Santino Haney led four players in double figures as Davis finished with 14, Tre’Von Wiggins added 11 and Cole Bowers 10. Big Red shot 11 of 29 from three-point range, with four different players recording at least one bonus goal. Davis led the way with four.
“We shot the ball well early from three-point range, but I think we got happy with it and missed 5 or 6 quick shots in a row. I told them we’ve got to take our time,” Coach Haney said.
Reese had a double-double for the Purple Riders with game-highs of 27 points and 13 rebounds. Elijah Smith added seven points and Walkquem Cox pulled down seven rebounds in a reserve role.
“I liked how our team battled, especially against a team like that,” Edwards said. “You can only withstand so many things. We have learned how to play with adversity. We sustained another injury tonight and we had kids in there that hadn’t played a whole lot this year, and we battled until the end.”
Behind Reese’s effort off the glass, the Purple Riders claimed a narrow, 37-35, edge on the boards. Martins Ferry also charted 24 turnovers, which were 14 more than Big Red.
Martins Ferry continues its brutal schedule with a game against Garaway at Conotton Valley on Saturday.
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