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NEWTON FALLS -- The Garfield G-Men and Newton Falls Tigers continue to get acquainted before they become league rivals in the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference-Gray Tier next school year.
The G-Men got the best of the host Tigers on Saturday, winning 54-45 to improve to 8-5 overall.
"I'm really proud of our team," Garfield coach Andrew Olesky said. "We were coming off of a physically and emotionally tough game last night (a victory over league-leading Southeast in a Portage Trail Conference game). "To turn around and beat a quality team like Newton Falls on their home court, is no easy task. Next year,
we'll be in the same conference. Our kids came in here and battled on both ends. It speaks volumes about the quality of kids we have. We're trending in the right direction."
The Tigers are not. Newton Falls currently leads the MVAC-Gray Tier with a record of 5-1. They own an overall record of 9-3, but they had a dreadful performance on Friday night in a 49-33 loss to previously winless Campbell. The injury bug has bitten Newton Falls, which has been without senior starters Josh Honeycutt and Cole Marquette. Honeycutt suffered a broken nose in a loss to Howland.
"Obviously, we don't have the firepower we have with those guys out," Newton Falls coach Roy Sembach said. "Hopefully, Josh will be back Tuesday and Cole (ankle) sometime soon after that. After a miserable game last night, our kids came back and played really hard. We were more physical than we have been on defense, but free throws were an issue."
The Tigers were 5-for-17 at the charity stripe.
Anthony Demma's hoop from downtown for Garfield gave the G-Men an 11-10 lead after one quarter. Kaidan Spade then drilled a 3-pointer to start the second, before adding a strong move in front of the basket. He finished with 17 points.
Garfield's Eric Geddes (10 points) and Newton Falls' Jordan Dowling (12 points) exchanged 3-pointers as the teams went back and forth. Dowling nailed four from long-range in the contest.
The Tigers' Joey Kline (team-high 16 points) smoothly swished it from behind the arc as time expired in the first half to tie the contest at 24.
Ian King scored to begin the second half for Newton Falls, but the Tigers managed just seven points in the third quarter.
Trystan Gedeon (game-high 24 points) made a 3-pointer as he began to go to work for Garfield. The G-Men held the ball, playing keep-away for the final 50 seconds of the quarter, which resulted in a blocked shot by Kline.
But Garfield led 37-31 heading to the fourth.
Nick Rapczak made a layup to get the fourth quarter started for the Tigers and the home fans were cheering. However, Gedeon quieted the crowd with another one from behind the arc.
After Alex Pennington and Luke Butler scored for Newton Falls, Pennington connected on a well-designed inbound play. However, Gedeon continued to get to the hoop and deliver.
As the game closed, the combination of Gedeon and Newton Falls' failures at the free-throw line sealed the outcome.
"We were patient on offense," Sembach said. "We played strong. We drew fouls. We just didn't make them at the line. The difference in the first half was 3s and foul shots. Garfield was 4-for-6 from 3-point range and we were something terrible. The difference in the second half were foul shots.
"If we made 60 percent, we would have been right there. We couldn't get the lead. We'd have a chance, but we'd miss the free throws. It's an individual thing. They have to believe in themselves to make them."