Alliance, OH - The West Branch Warriors football team had a season to remember, the downside of that is how close the basketball season and football playoffs are to each other. After a grueling summer and fall on the gridiron, sometimes it takes a few weeks and game action to get your 'basketball legs' under you.
For the Warriors, Friday night at Marlington may be the date they can look back on as when they finally shook off the hardwood cobwebs. In one of the better rivalries that the Eastern Buckeye Conference has to offer, the Marlington Dukes (3-1) welcomed the 0-2 West Branch Warriors. The game lived up to the billing through the first 8 minutes as West Branch held a slim 10-9 lead after one.
While the Dukes trailed by only one after the opening frame, they lost Senior Post player Dylan Harrington around the 4-minute mark of the 1st quarter to what appeared to be an ankle injury. Harrington was not able to return to action tonight despite going through warmups out of halftime.
The Warriors gained some breathing room in the 2nd quarter as they extended their lead to 6 by the midway point. The Warriors were led in scoring by the tandem of Senior Cooper Anderson (6) and Junior Jeremiah Thomas (7). With no Heatherington, Marlington relied even more on the shoulders of Sophomore Cameron Evanich who headed to the break with 7 points as well.
The 3rd quarter turned into the Jeremiah Thomas Show. In the frame he collected 12 points, with 7 coming from the charity stripe where he was a perfect 9-9 on the evening. The Warrior lead ballooned to 47-34 as foul trouble became an issue on both sides.
The Dukes showed fight in the 4th quarter, but the deficit was too much to overcome, as the Warriors kept a healthy lead throughout. For the game, Evanich ended with 18 points, followed by Junior Brady Denham with 11 and fellow Sophomore Parker Woods with 10 before his night ended with 5 fouls. Following Thomas' game high 19 for the Warriors was Anderson and Senior Guard Joey Jackson with 9 apiece.
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