54 - Right Down The Line

RIGHT DOWN THE LINE
With Art Cicconetti, Sports Editor
Thursday, March 11, 1954
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio

IT WAS A TREMENDOUS VICTORY last night.  Perhaps the win over the Strasburg Tigers in the County Tournament finals was a bigger one in the eyes of Tuscarawas fans, but they'll remember that one last night for a long time.  It was that kind of victory.  Trailing almost all of the 1st three periods, Tusky made a bid for victory in the last quarter against an undefeated team and got that triumph.

Tuscarawas was hurting when they went into last night's game.  Senior guard Ralph Vesco had the flu and so did Senior center Larry (Doofy) Myers.  Both were taking penicillin shots and both were very pale and obviously off form.  Vesco never did show the form he exhibited in tournament games at Memorial Hall in the past 3 weeks, but he was in there battling all the way.  Myers was a tremendous help under the boards after a shaky 1st quarter and it looked as though the Broncos' chances were finished when big "Doofy" was whistled to the bench in the 3rd stanza with his 4th personal foul.

TERRY DEEMS was the big gun in the Tusky attack.  It was his offensive spark that gave off the most glow, but it was a real team victory.  Deems couldn't beg, borrow or even steal a basket in the 1st quarter, but he came up with 4 in the 2nd frame and 6 more in the last canto.  That's real shooting.  The victory was no fluke despite the fact that it was garnered in the last 4 seconds of play.  From where we sat it appeared that Tuscarawas had more rebounding and more scrap then the Flushing Orioles had all the way.

That switch from a tight zone underneath to a man-for-man was probably the deciding factor for the Broncos since an 11-point lead in the 3rd stanza may have been a bigger obstacle to overcome than it was in the 2nd period. 

THE BIGGEST BLUNDER of the game was committed by one of the brightest stars.  The Orioles had the ball and a one-point lead with 30 seconds left in the game.  Guard John Fitzgerald was wasting the time away and he began some fancy dribbling with the Tuscarawas defense pressing him back.  Fitzgerald kept moving back, giving way to the pressure until he stepped across the 10-second line and lost the ball with 13 seconds left in the game.

That was the chance Tusky needed and it was almost a natural occurence for the crucial shot to be made by Deems.  He got the break and cashed in on it.  They couldn't write a better finish in any fiction book.

THIS REALLY SETS THE STAGE for the finals.  The Tigers of Strasburg will be out to avenge their defeat at the hands of the Broncos in the County Tournament finals and Tuscarawas will be trying just as hard to prove that victory was no fluke.  It was just 9 years ago that Tusky and the Bengals met in the District Tournament finals at Zanesville with the Tigers winning out by a 47-44 count and going to the Regional Tournament finals at Athens before losing by one point 32-31 to the Worthington Cardinals.

Strasburg was undefeated in 26 games before that meeting with the Broncos.  In fact 3 of the Tigers' victories came over Tuscarawas.  It was 25-23 in the 1st meeting, 45-43 in the 2nd and 31-16 in the county tournament.  This year the Bengals will take a record of 26 victories into the game, but there's also that one defeat 64-60 put there by Tusky nearly 2 weeks ago.  This one will be for keeps.  There won't be a 2nd chance for either team.  It should be a real game.