Indians third in Tri-State Shootout
The Berkeley Springs High School Boys Basketball Team clawed their way past the Hancock Panthers, 68-60, to win the consolation game in the 26th annual Rotary Club Tri-State Shootout on Tuesday, December 27, in Berkeley Springs.
The Tribe got a team-high 15 points from Jared Spielman, six in the final quarter, to pull out the eight-point win.
It was a battle from the outset and remained a nip and tuck contest until the final minute of regulation.
Hancock held a slim two-point lead, 43-41, heading into the final quarter and extended the advantage to 47-42 with seven remaining.
Berkeley Springs tied the game at 55 each when Derrick Cowles hit a driving layup at the 2:21 mark and then took the lead on a put back off the offensive glass by Ryan Tyser. Zach Wise got a steal and bucket, giving the Tribe a 61-56 lead with under a minute left, and then salted away the hard fought win.
"We are at our best when we are creating turnovers and pushing the ball up and down the court," said Berkeley Springs coach Jeremy Horvat. “We did that in the final five or six minutes of the game and it was key. We also made our free throws. That, along with the little run at the end was the difference. I want to give our kids some credit for bouncing back from a tough loss. We didn't play our best at times, but our kids played hard and stepped up when they needed to."
Wise and Cowles finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Brady Spielman had nine points, Richard Recio seven, Tyser six, while Kaleb Athey, Michael Kearney and Matt Walters added two points each.
Vince Foreman scored 17 points, Chad Sipe 14 and Donnie O'Brien 11 for the Panthers.
The Indians ended up in the consolation game after losing to Clear Spring (the second time in four days), 70-59, on Monday, December 26.
Recio and Brady Spielman scored early baskets in the paint to give Berkeley Springs a 4-2 lead. But, Clear Spring ramped up their defense, holding the Tribe to six points for the remainder of the opening quarter, while scoring 18 points of their own to take a 20-10 lead.
The Blazers converted eight free throw attempts in the second quarter and extended the lead to 37-24 at the half.
The Indians held Clear Spring to 13 third-quarter points and shaved the lead to 47-39 heading into the final eight minutes of regulation. The Blazers scored the first five points of the fourth quarter and held off Berkeley for the 70-59 victory.
"This is a game the kids were really looking forward to after the close loss the week before," said Horvat. “You have to give them (Clear Spring) a lot of credit. Their coaches made a few adjustments from game one and the team played well. We could have played a little better, but you have to give credit where credit is due."
Recio and Cowles paced the Indians with 17 and 15 points, respectively. Jared Spielman added eight, Brady Spielman seven, Wise six, Athey two to the Indian total, while Dylan Whipple and Michael Kearney had one point each.
Nick Hill scored 24 points and Sam Elwood added 15 for Clear Spring.
Southern Fulton defeated Clear Spring 62-52 in the championship game.
Recio was named to the all tournament team along with O'Brien (H), Hill (CS), Elwood (CS), Seth Hall (SF), Nick Smartt (SF) and tournament MVP Damon Gordon (SF).
