DOVER - With 10 games last weekend eliminating 3 teams, the 19th Annual Tuscarawas County Class B Basketball Tournament today was ready to go into its final sessions with the Midvale Blue Devils established as an overwhelming favorite and with the Strasburg Tigers assuming the role of dark-horse...an outside contender. Semi-final matches Thursday see Midvale who dropped the Bolivar Cardinals 34-20 in the 2nd round, take on the Gnadenhutten Indians at 9PM and Strasburg plays the Dundee Bulldogs at 8PM. Two Consolation games will be held and Saturday night the 2 finals are scheduled.
Midvale was impressive Thursday night in turning back the League Champions of Bolivar, while Gnaden was not in its 37-27 victory over Port Washington, but the Indians are slated to give the Blue Devils a tussle. Strasburg, which played the only regular tournament game Saturday night and turned in a 33-27 victory over the Stone Creek Panthers, will have its hands full with the Dundee sharpshooters. The Bulldogs are expected to be a dangerous opponent; however, it may be able to turn in an upset.
In other games Saturday night the Port Washington Purple Riders turned the heat on the Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates to win 48-30, while Bolivar found Tusky easy picking 35-23 after a big last half rally. Both Sugarcreek-Shanesville and the Tuscarawas Broncos, 2 of the seeded teams, are now eliminated entirely from the tournament with the Mineral City Tigers which lost its first 2 encounters on Thursday and Friday night. Tusky also lost its only 2 games and are now gone.
Only 760 fans, most of them lured by the Strasburg-Stone Creek clash, witnessed the Saturday night games, but Tournament Manager Harold Everett of Tuscarawas reported the tourney attendance favorable compared with last year. Last year 702 fans attended the Saturday night session.
The Strasburg Tigers (2-0) (50-10) accomplished it's victory over the Stone Creek Golden Panthers (1-1) (6-16) 33-27 in the last 4 minutes of the game and only after 2nd-year Head Coach Sam Andrews of the Tigers had jerked his 1st team and sent in the varsity substitutes in the final half.
The Tigers took a 10-7 lead in the 1st quarter and continued on through the 2nd period, winding up at the half with an 18-16 two-point edge. The Golden Panthers rallied in the 3rd period and were within one point of tying the count, but the Burgers swept into a 26-22 lead going into the final period. With 6 minutes remaining Stone Creek knotted the count at 27-all when center Gilbert Mizer's long shot, which he missed, counted because a Strasburg player struck the net and guard Ed Arbogast counted a free throw and forward Dale Wherley scored a field goal.
That wound up the Stone Creek scoring and in the final 4 minutes Junior guard Gene Hawks dropped in 6 points and Senior forward Earl Lengler a free throw to give Strasburg its victory. Hawk's 9 points were high for the winners, while Wherley scored a like number for the losers. Strasburg lost Sophomore Carl Yackey, it's big center, in the 3rd period and Stone Creek lost guard Don Buehler in the final period.
The game indicated that, although Coach Andrews' club does not have any particularly outstanding player, he has plenty of reserve strength, which is always needed in tournament play.
STRASBURG TIGERS - 33
Ken Houtz F 2-0-4
Gene Gordon F 2-0-4
Carl Yackey C 1-2-4
Dick Welsch G 0-1-1
Tom Miller G 2-1-5
Gene Hawk C 3-3-9
Bill Schenk F 0-0-0
Earl Lengler F 1-2-4
Ed Weber G 1-0-2
Bob Rousch G 0-0-0
STONE CREEK GOLDEN PANTHERS - 27
Brown F 0-0-0
Dale Wherley F 3-3-9
Gilbert Mizer C 2-2-6
Wayne Kugler G 1-1-3
Ed Arbogast G 0-1-1
Ralph Kilehenmann F 0-0-0
Bill Ridenour F 2-2-6
Don Buehler G 0-2-2
Monday, February 24, 1941
John Stratton, Sports Writer
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio
NOTE:
STRASBURG - The Tigers, after finishing 5-5, far down in the League Standings with the Stone Creek Panthers (tied for 6th Place), Head Coach Sam Andrews was looking forward to the new season and tournaments. This season the Strasbrugers had a long hard row to make it back among the League's top teams (again 6th place with a 6-4 record) as Coach Andrews lost his entire 1st team from last season and had only 1 letterman returning. The latter is Bill Schenk, a Senior guard.
Among the group most likely to supply the year's varsity material, were Earl Lengler, Gene Gordon, Jim Welsch and Ed Weber, all of whom saw a lot of action last season and this season as well and figured to be on the front line on the courts. In Ken Houtz and Dick Welsch, both Juniors, Coach Andrews had a pair of excellent forward prospects. Both are good shots, but neither has had a great deal of experience. Fred Deibel and Gene Hawk, aggressive ball hawks, were also high-bidding-prospects and probably in line for a lot of action.
Outstanding Sophomore candidate is Carl Yackey, 6-foot 2 Inch tosser with a well-balanced knowledge of the game both on offense and defense. Other Sophomore candidates were Tom Miller, Bob Rousch, Don Hullett, Don Harding and Junior Wallick.
THE MIDVALE MARVEL - The 3-year scoring mark of Frank Baumholtz, ace Midvale cager at Ohio University, passed the 1,000 mark and touched 1,013 Saturday night as the star tallied 24 points against Ohio Wesleyan and set a scoring pace for 5 Tuscarawas County cagers with collegiate quintets. Meanwhile, Bud Ebert and Don Everett of Dover were aiding Muskingum top Denison University 43-42 with Ebert contributing 8 points and Everett 6. Earl Fisher of New Philadelphia scored 15 points for Wittenberg as the Lutherans trimmed Masrietta 49-28.
Playing with the "Midvale Marvel" and the Bobcats is Ray Blickensderfer of Gnadenhutten who scored one point. Frank went on to score 29 points in his last game and his final total points wasw 1,042, a new record for the University of Ohio Bobcats.
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