DOVER - The 11 teams that started out in the county's 23rd Annual Class B Championship Basketball Tournament were whittled down to 4 today and those 4 will have at each other in the finals of the competition at Memorial Hall tonight naming a tournament Champion and qualifying 3 for the Sectional Tournament meeting here next week. Latest casualties in the event were the Baltic Eagles and Dundee Bulldogs who fell by the way last night in the Consolation Division semi-finals. Baltic bowed to the Tuscarawas Broncos 61-46 and Dundee fell before the Gnadenhutten Indians 53-43, leaving Tusky and Gnaden to fight it out for the Division's Consolation honors.
As a result of last night's games, tonight's finals will pit ancient rivals in both ends of the doubleheader program: Tuscarawas vs Gnadenhutten at 7:30PM and the Strasburg Tigers vs Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates at 8:30PM. Strasburg and Sugarcreek-Shanesville, who tied for the League Championship, will be fighting for the tournament title with both automatically qualified for the Sectional. Both games tonight will be a continuation of rivalries that extend far back over the years and boast the partisanship of a Dover-New Philadelphia or Uhichsville-Dennison contest.
During the season Strasburg and Sugarcreek-Shanesville split a pair of games, while Tusky won twice over the Indinas (45-28 and 54-48) in regular seasonal play. But with the chips down tonight and all the teams showing the fanatics caused by tournament pressure, anything can happen...and usually does!
The Consolation Division semi-finalists last night all showed signs of the long and gruelling schedule they have been playing in the tournament. In the Tuscarawas Broncos (3-1) (15-5) (24-27) and Baltic Eagles (1-2) (9-7) (21-32) contest, Seniors forward Rich Bonvechio of Tusky and Big center Max Regula of Baltic, put on a personal scoring duel for the handful of fans in the stands in their encounter and came out all even with 21 points apiece. Each had 9 field goals and 3 free throws.
The Eagles held a continual threat over the heads of the Broncos of Head Coach Jim Rogers and Baltic was never out of the game until the 3rd quarter when a rally cut Tusky's lead to 5 points, 43-37, before a new surge carried the Broncos ahead and kept them there. The Rogersmen had only a 2-point lead in the 1st quarter 12-10. Tusky continued to lead at the end of every quarter. In the 2nd period the Broncos expanded their lead to only 4 points at 27-23. The 3rd stanza had the Riders expand once again to 9 points when Tuscarawas picked up 20 points and Baltic 15 markers at 47-38. The last and final quarter found the Broncos' defense kick in to hold the Eagles to just 8 points wrapping up the game.
Bonvechio and Regula won game honors with 21 points apiece for their respective teams. Baltic's Junior guard Doren Pepper was the only other player on the team who scored in double figures with 10 markers. Junior center John Vesco dropped in 17 points and Senior guard Bob Schmaker grabbed 11 markers for the Broncos.
Attendance last night was only about 400 or so with 372 paid admissions, according to tournament Manager W.E. Laws. At the same session last year the tournament drew 441.
TUSCARAWAS BRONCOS - 61
Rich Bonvechio F 9-3-21
Chuck Lorenz F 0-2-2
John Vesco C 7-3-17
Bob Schmaker G 5-1-11
Fred Walton G 4-0-8
Dick Donahue F 1-0-2
BALTIC EAGLES - 46
Paul Brown F 0-0-0
Dennis Schlarb F 1-0-2
Max Regula C 9-3-21
Doren Pepper G 3-4-10
Gene Schlarb G 2-4-8
Adrian Ott G 2-0-4
Ed McQueen F 0-1-1
Saturday, February 24, 1945
Clyde Shaffer, Sports Writer
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio
SATURDAY 2-24-45
Gnaden vs Tusky 7:30PM (CC)
Sugarcreek-Shanesville vs Strasburg 8:30PM (TC)
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