1st-Year Head Coach Bob Singerman of the 1953 Midvale Blue Devils guided his team to a Runner-up position with the Tuscarawas Broncos in the Tuscarawas County Basketball League as the teams ended with 8-2 records. Their season ended on a 15-6 mark. The Blue Devils then ended the Annual Tuscarawas County Class B Basketball Tournament as Champions with a 4-0 record and were now 19-6 for the year. In their 1st game in the Sectional Tournament the Diablos just got by the stubborn Big Prairie Lakeville Bulldogs 63-62 moving Midvale's record to 20-6.
Senior Guard Don Graham of the Midvale Blue Devils led his team in the Sectional Tournament with a 63-62 victory over the Big Prairie Lakeville Bulldogs scoring 21 points and again outscoring all players in the contest. Graham has locked up 80 points during 5 games of tournament play and is averaging 16 points per game.
DOVER - The Midvale Blue Devils (20-6) and Strasburg Tigers (22-4) will take over the spotlight in the Class B Sectional Tournament at Memorial Hall tonight in the opening game at 7:30 with the Dennison St. Mary Blue Waves (9-8) taking on the Killbuck Bucks (20-2) in the windup tussle. The Blue Devils, Champions of the 31st Annual Tuscarawas County Class B Basketball Tournament, defeated the Tigers by 2 points (57-55) in the 2nd meeting with the Bengals in regular season after Strasburg had claimed a 1-point triumph in the 1st setting (63-62).
The regular season and Consolation Champions easily handled the Gnadenhutten Indians (75-59) on Thursday night to win the right to enter tonight's finals against Head Coach Bob Singerman's Diablos, while the Killbuck Bucks (19-2) was a winner over the Dennison Railroaders (11-11). In last night's ball games, the Dover St. Joseph Ramblers (10-11) faded in the face of a balanced attack by the Dennison St. Mary Blue Waves (9-8), who took a convincing 65-54 decision, while Midvale barely edged Big Prairie Lakeville 's Bulldogs 63-62.
The Midvale Blue Devils (5-0) (20-6) and the Big Prairie Lakeville Bulldogs (20-7) staged a hectic battle for the full house at Memorial Hall, but the Blue Devils came through in the last 2 minutes and went into a stall after grabbing a one-point lead with 30 seconds remaining. Both teams held leads in the see-saw contest with the Diablos breaking on top just as the 1st quarter ended with Junior forward Dave Martin hitting from action. The period had seen the score knotted 6 times before Martin's shot broke the ice just as the buzzer sounded to give the Devils a 15-13 edge.
Midvale continued to hold the edge in the 2nd frame, leading by 29-22 at one stage and then walking off the floor at halftime with a 32-27 lead. The Bulldogs, playing without the services of Head Coach Bob Lee, who was unable to make the trip due to serious illness in his family, bared their teeth in the 3rd stanza and pitched into the task of getting the lead back in their paws.
The Pups deadlocked the score at 34-34 and then locked it up once more at 40-40 before forward Chuck Mulhall dropped in a pair of buckets to give them a 44-40 advantage. Big Prairie Lakeville was leading 45-42 going into the final canto, which saw the 2 teams match baskets until the midway point when Senior center Dick Tolloti broke loose to can a pair of fast action shots and give the Blue Devils the lead 52-51.
The score was tied once again seconds later before the Diablos went ahead 57-54 with 3 minutes remaining. The Bulldogs spurted to take a 60-59 lead at the 2-minute mark and then Seniors, guard Don Graham and forward Bill Anderson, gave the Devils the points they needed to win. Graham was top for both teams with 21 points, while Tolloti added 19 for Midvale. Bob Hunter of the losers paced his team with 20 points of his own.
MIDVALE BLUE DEVILS - 63
Dave Martin F 2-1-5
Bill Anderson F 2-1-5
Dick Tolloti C 8-3-21
Don Graham G 9-3-21
Ron Harmon G 4-3-11
Ron Weaver G 1-0-2
Ed Krocker G 0-0-0
Wil Di Genova G 0-0-0
Frank Davis F 0-0-
BIG PRAIRIE LAKEVILLE BULLDOGS - 62
Wells F 4-2-10
Chuck Mulhall F 3-4-10
Bob Hunter C 7-6-20
Flinner G 3-2-8
Rush G 6-2-14
Conner G 0-0-0
Saturday, February 28, 1953
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio
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