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Purple Riders Down Tigers

Photo by Kristin Mazgaj Martins Ferry’s Colby Shriver goes up for a shot against Shadyside’s Elijah Brock.

MARTINS FERRY — Martins Ferry coach Derek Edwards received an early Christmas present Tuesday night — a pleasing performance from his Purple Riders.

Ferry, making just its third start in this COVID-shrouded campaign, notched its initial victory, posting a 66-58 win against Shadyside at Tolbert Gymnasium.

“This is more of what I expected from this team. It all starts with effort for us,” Edwards said. “I was pleased with our effort for all four quarters tonight. That is something that has been lacking.

“But I must remember that this is still only our third game. Some of these kids are making their first starts. We need to be able to close out games better than we did. But tonight was definitely a step in the right direction.”

Shadyside, coming off a tough two-point setback to River, fell to 1-3.

Senior Logan Smith stepped up big for the Purple Riders. The 6-foot-6 dandy poured in 25 points and pulled down nine rebounds in a sparkling performance.

Smith, however, was no one-man Purple show.

Talented junior Jaizen Miles netted 16 points while classmate Davian Ray enjoyed his best outing of the season with 13 points to go with some fine point guard play.

Junior center Peyton Hores also was a Purple positive, netting eight points while delivering aggressive play in the paint.

“Logan had quite a game. It is what we expect of him and it is what he expects of himself,” Edwards said. “Jaizen and Davian both had strong games. Our guard play was much better tonight. That is key for us.

“I thought our bench was a positive tonight. They gave us some solid minutes,” he continued. “We are starting into a gauntlet of a schedule, starting Tuesday night at Union Local. So we need to keep building off of (Tuesday).”

Athletic Elijah Brock turned in a sharp effort for Shadyside. The 6-4 sophomore tallied 21 points. Junior standout Korey Beckett was next with 12 points while hard-working seniors Jacob Visnic and Jordan Joseph chipped in with 10 and nine, respectively.

“I can’t fault our players’ efforts. They played hard and didn’t quit,” Andes said. “I was pleased with how aggressive we were getting to the basket. We just need to keep working on the offensive end.

“We had a tough time scoring in the second quarter but we made a couple of nice runs in the second half. Give Martins Ferry credit. They played well and Smith had a real nice night for them.”

Shadyside emerged with a 14-13 lead after the opening eight minutes. Brock and Visnic each donated six points to the Orange cause. Smith countered with five markers for the Purple Riders.

The Tigers, however, found points hard to come by in the second panel, as the hosts used a 20-6 advantage to build a 33-30 halftime cushion. Smith, Miles and Hores all scored six points in the frame.

Shadyside made a push midway through the third quarter, closing to within 38-33 on a Visnic bucket. However, Hores bucketed to stem the tide and enable the Purple Riders to regain control at 45-33 entering the final chapter. The Orange drew no closer than eight in the fourth stanza despite erupting for 25 points in the session.

Both teams were guilty of 12 turnovers.

Toronto 63, Southern Local 41

SALINEVILLE — Noah Karaffa led scored 11 points, but Toronto fell to Southern Local. Nathan Chociej and Bryson Anderson evenly divided 14 points for the Red Knights.

For the Indians, Josh Pratt tallied a game-high 14 points. Timmy West had 11 points, and Brock Smalley added 10.

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