Senior Center Russ Robart of the Midvale Blue Devils puts the clinching shot through the netting in the final moments against the Garaway Pirates. The Blue Devils stopped the upset-bound Pirates 69-68. Defending for the Corsairs are Senior Guard Gordon Gerber (22) and Freshman Forward John Goss (55). (Photo...The Daily Reporter)
The Midvale Blue Devils. FRONT: Manager Ken Haney - Ron Breniser - Dick Housel - Russ Hobart - Tom Krocker - Dave Belknap and Manager Bill Kerschbaumer. BACK: Manager Joe Monte - Ron Kaderly - John Everett - Jim Clark - Dale Stansbury - Vince DeNoi and Head Coach Ralph "Pete" Hilliard. (Photo...Souvenir Booklet)
DOVER - For 3 quarters the Garaway Pirates (2-1) (4-4) (12-11) literally played the Midvale Blue Devils (2-0) (8-0) (18-2) off its feet and appeared to be headed for the biggest upset of the tournament. But the overwhelming confidence of the Blue Devil players was evident as they fought from a 2-point deficit at the end of the 3rd stanza to take the decision 69-68.
The Pirates, waxing white-hot in the opening minutes of the 1st quarter ran up a lead of 14-2 before Midvale realized they were in a ball game and narrowed the gap to 16-9 with about 2 minutes remaining in the period. Before the quarter closed the 2 teams exchanged baskets and it ended 20-14 with the Corsairs on top. In the 2nd frame the Diablos hit for 14 points, while the Corsairs made 13 with the score standing at 33-28 at halftime.
Third quarter action saw the Devils narrow the gap to one point and tie the game at 38-38 with 4:45 remaining in the period. But the Plankmen forged back into the lead with 5 straight points and were ahead 47-45 at the quarter's end. The final quarter went down to the final buzzer before the winner was really decided. The Maroon and Gray opened the final chukker with a 6-point spurt for a lead of 53-46. The Blue and Gold of Midvale then whittled the margin to 56-55 and went ahead 57-56 with 2:05 remaining when Junior forward Dave Belknap, mainstay in the Midvale Blue Devils' attack, hit on a jump shot.
A brief flurry of action shots by the 2 squads as the seconds ticked away saw the Blue Devils on tip 61-60. Senior center Russ Hobart gave the eventual winners 2 more points, while the Garaway Pirates pushed within upset distance once again when Senior forward Bill Slemmer tallied on 2 free throws. But Midvale remained in the lead from that point to cop the verdict, their 18th in 20 games. The Pirates ended the season with a 12-11 record.
The Diablos hit on 39 percent of its shots from the field, connecting on 25 in 63 attempts, while Garaway had a mark of 38 percent, scoring the same number of floor shots in 65 attempts. The Devils had a 70.4 mark at the free throw line, meshing 18 in 27 attempts and the Corsairs had a 72 percent mark, tallying 18 in 25 tries. Dave Belknap was the main cog in the Blue and Gold attack when he scored 11 goals and 5 free throw tosses for 27 points. Following him were Hobart with 20 and Tom Krocker with 14.
The Plankmen were paced by Sophomore guard Koran Zehnder who parted the cords for 18 markers. Freshman John Goss and Sophomore 6-0 center Chuck Stingel had 13 each and Senior guard Gordon Gerber dropped in 10.
MIDVALE BLUE DEVILS - 69
Jim Clark 0-0-0
Dave Belknap 11-5-27
Tom Krocker 4-6-14
Russ Hobart 6-8-20
Vince DeNoi 0-0-0
Bill Housel 1-0-2
Ron Breniser 3-0-6
GARAWAY PIRATES - 68
John Goss 5-3-13
Bill Slemmer 2-4-8
Chuck Stingel 5-3-13
Koran Zehnder 7-4-18
Dean Burrell 1-0-2
Larry Yakely 1-0-2
Gordon Gerber 3-4-10
Chuck May 1-0-2
MIDVALE ..14-28-45-69
GARAWAY 20-33-47-68
Friday, February 21, 1958
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio
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