Senior Larry Combs is a 6-2 stretcher Center for the Port Washington Purple Riders. Larry came off the bench which he occupied mush of the time last year and has made a big contribution to the Purple Riders offense. Against the Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates last night he threw in 13 points in a must-win situation for the Riders. Port upended the Pirates 60-50 at Memorial Hall.
Senior Fred Welsch is a 5-9 scrappy Guard for the Port Washington Purple Riders. Fred has been a mainstay of the Purple Riders' starting combination and has been a consistent performer for Port in the county tournament. His overall season total in the scoring column is 178 points in 21 games thus far and in the tournament he has tallied 25 markers in 3 games. He tossed in 8 points last night against the Pirates.
DOVER - The Tuscarawas County Class B Basketball Tournament, now in its 32nd renewal, has reached the end of the trail and who should be scrambling for the honors but the top teams according to the League's regular season standings. As if by some pre-arranged plan, the Tuscarawas Broncos and Strasburg Tigers will meet again in the game county fans have been waiting for since the two battled earlier in the season with the Tigers winning handily.
The 2 titans of the League will clash for the Championship Crown in the feature game of the evening with the Port Washington Purple Riders and Baltic Eagles, who deadlocked for the 3rd place finish in the regular season, tangling in the preliminary for the Consolation Division title. The Tigers and Broncos have already clinched berths in the Class B Sectional to be held here next week along with the Killbuck Bucks, Dennison Railroaders, Dover St. Joseph Ramblers, Dennison St. Mary Blue Waves and the Millersburg Knights. The winner of the Baltic-Port tussle will be the 3rd representative from the county League.
The Eagles nipped the Midvale Blue Devils 73-70 in the 1st Consolation Division game at Memorial Hall last night, while the Purple Riders pulled away in lthe final quarter after trailing most of the way to oust the Pirates from the tournament 60-50. The Bengals have won the tournament championship 13 times since its inaugural in 1923. Undefeated Strasburg will face a team that will be seeking Tusky's 1st tournament title since 1935. That was the Broncos only championship in the annual festival.
The Purple Riders will be out to annex the 1st trophy in the school's history. Port has never moved past the county tournament, while the Eagles were runner-up twice in 1938 and in 1952.
Senior forward Ken Huston led the Port Washington Purple Riders (2-1) (13-8) (21-50) to another whirlwind finish and the Sugarcreek-Shanesville Pirates (2-2) (57-40), who led all the way into the last canto, were chased out of the tournament. Head Coach Bob Wise's Buccaneers racked up a quick 5-0 lead as Senior center Bill Ray swished 2 push shots and Junior guard Bill Pfister connected on a free throw try. That was Pfister's last point of the game and Ray didn't connect again until just before he left the game on personal fouls with 4 minutes of the contest left to play.
The Pirates led 15-11 at the close of the 1st quarter and were on top 30-23 at halftime intermission as Senior guard Jim Spahr took over the heavy scoring duties. Senior forward Max Miller shoved the Bucs ahead 32-22 as the Corsairs controlled the 2nd half tip-off, but Senior guard Fred Welsch led a drive that brought the Purple Riders to within 3 points 32-29. Miller and Spahr managed to keep Sugarcreek-Shanesville ahead the rest of the period and the Pirates were on top 39-37 at the far turn. That's when Huston, who began to hit his stride in the 3rd stanza, ignited the final push.
The Riders floor general meshed 2 quick baskets to give Port Washington their 1st lead of the game at 41-39 and after Miller canned a free throw toss for the Corsairs , he chipped in 4 straight points and Senior center Larry Combs added 2 charity tosses as the Purple Riders moved away. The Riders' spark plug collected a total of 26 points for the night while leading his companeros, while Spahr had 18 and Miller 17 for Sugarcreek-Shanesville.
PORT WASHINGTON PURPLE RIDERS - 60
Paul Frank F 3-4-10
Gary Dichler F 0-0-0
Ken Huston F 10-6-26
Larry Combs C 3-7-13
Tom Jones G 0-0-0
Fred Welsch G 4-0-8
Jim Landon G 1-1-3
SUGARCREEK-SHANESVILLE PIRATES - 50
Max Miller F 4-9-17
Ted Brown F 2-0-4
Paul Snyder F 1-0-2
Keith Gerber F 1-0-2
Bill Ray C 3-0-6
Jim Spahr G 7-4-18
Bill Pfister G 0-1-1
Saturday, February 27, 1954
Art Cicconetti, Sports Editor
The Daily Reporter
Dover, Ohio
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