Senior Gene Hensel (22) of the Strasburg Tigers sneaks in behind the basket to grab a rebound off the boards in photo. Teammate Senior Jerry Haswell (55) moves in, while an unidentified Boston Township player reaches for the ball. Bob Conger (22) of the Bulldogs and the Bengals' Sophomore Jerry Froman are also moving in. (The Daily Reporter Photo By Bob Fisher)
Senior Jerry (Goose) Von Kaenel of Strasburg goes up all alone to tip in one his 14 field goals early in the 3rd stanza. Froman (66) and Woody Johnson (27) of Boston Township are the only other identifiable players in the scene. (The Daily Reporter Photo By Bob Fisher)
Haswell goes up for a jump shot with Ned Gillette (28) and Dave Bigelow (20) unable to stop the attempt. (The Daily Reporter Photo By Bob Fisher)
KENT - Senior Jerry (Goose) Von Kaenel, scoring almost at will after an initial "cold" stretch, was the hub of the Strasburg Tigers (8-0) (26-2) offense as he clicked in 37 points. The Goose was the center of the Tigers control strategy in the final canto as he set up shots by drawing out the Boston Township Bulldogs (21-3) rebounders. The Bengals appeared ill at ease in the opening minutes of the contest as the Cats failed to hit and couldn't seem to get the feel of the huge Kent Fieldhouse hardwood. Once the Orange and Black began moving; however, they couldn't be halted.
Township turned on a dazzling display of shooting at the outset of the contest and with Ned Gillette's soft hook shots swishing through the nets, the Bulldogs ambled away to a lead and held that edge through most of the 1st quarter. Gillette and 6-2 Jim Jones were giving Goose, Senior Jerry Haswell and Sophomore Jerry Froman a good battle under the boards, in that opening period with Junior Jim Kuecher's soft push shot and Von Kaenel's accuracy at the free throw line keeping Strasburg in contention. Goose began to regain his touch in the 2nd frame and the Tiger Ace took advantage of the defensive lapses of the Pups to crash the nets for 14 points, but even this wasn't enough.
Gillette continued his amazing hook shot specialty and the Boston Township was out ahead by 5 points before the Bengals stopped the surge and kept the speedy Summit County Crew in check. The 1st half appeared to be a contest between Gillette and Goose as the two tallied 14 and 19, respectively, while Township was taking the upper-hand. The Bulldogs had a 36-35 halftime edge and that was the last time it led.
Goose, Kuecher and Haswell led an all-out surge by the Cats in the 3rd stanza and the Orange and Black powered to a 29-point spree, while the Pups cooled considerably and fell behind 64-52 going into the final canto. Strasburg immediately jumped into a 39-36 lead at the outbreak of hostilities in the 2nd half and after Bob Conger made it 39-38 with 2 free throw tosses, the turning point in the game broke a tight duel land gave the advantage to the Tuscarawas County Kingpins.
Goose was fouled by Jones, Boston Township's center. The Goose made his 1st attempt and missed his 2nd with Haswell flipping the ball through the nets and drawing a foul from Jones. The personal was Jones' 4th and he was taken out of the contest, while Haswell parted the nets cleanly with his free throw attempt to give the Tigers a 45-38 advantage. That was it!
Despite a spree of 8 points by Dave Bigelow, Township just couldn't keep pace with the Bengals balanced scoring punch and the Cat's gradually pulled away to a 12-point lead, 64-52 at the far turn. The Orange and Black retained the edge all through the final quarter as they controlled the ball for most of the canto and picked their shots as the Bulldogs defenses opened up.
A short burst in the fading minutes brought the Pups close (within 6 points) at the 1:44 mark, but Haswell and Kuecher eased the situation at the free throw line and Strasburg merely scored enough to stay on top. The Tigers' triumph was achieved at the free throw stripe as the Bengals connected for 20 in 28 chances with the Pups connecting for 12 of 18. Both teams had 29 field goals.
Haswell had 15 points and Kuecher collected 13 to aid Goose in the scoring column for Strasburg, while Gillette had 22, Bigelow 16 and Conger 10 for the smooth and accurate Boston Township quintet. The victory was the 26th in 28 outings for the Tigers and gave the Bengals 9 consecutive victories since losing to Sandy Valley 68-57. The 5 Strasburg starters went almost all the way with Froman going out on personal fouls with 16 seconds left in the game
STRASBURG TIGERS - 78
Jerry Haswell 6-3-15
Jim Kuecher 5-3-13
Jerry (Goose) Von Kaenel 14-9-37
Jerry Froman 2-2-6
Gene Hensel 1-3-5
Lloyd Diebel 0-0-0
BOSTON TOWNSHIP BULLDOGS - 70
Dave Bigelow 7-2-16
Jim Jones 4-2-10
Bob Conger 5-4-14
Ned Gillette 10-2-22
Johnston 0-0-0
Kovach 3-2-8
STRASBURG 15-35-64-78
BOSTON TOWNSHIP 17-36-52-70
Saturday, March 19, 1955
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio
NOTE: VIENNA AND LIBERTY
The Vienna Mustangs used a 3rd-period drive to springboard to its victory as did Strasburg with Rex Leach breaking the shackles snapped on him during the 1st two periods to lead the assault.
The high-scoring Mustangs' center dropped in 28 points as the flashy Colts came from behind a 7-2 deficit in the 1st quarter stages of the game to win going away. Vienna's full-court press slowed down Liberty in the 2nd frame and the Mustangs capitalized on mistakes to charge into the lead in the 3rd stanza when they racked up 25 points.
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