Girard sophomore Braxton Sloan drives between Salem’s Cam Martin (left) and Weston Mango on Tuesday. Sloan is a former Southern Local standout. (Morning Journal/Michael Burich)

SALEM — The wins have been few and far between for the young Salem boys basketball team this season, but the pieces seem to be starting to fall in place.

Led by junior Ty Manion’s 26-point, six-rebound, five-assist night the Quakers outlasted a Girard team with a former Columbiana County standout in a 66-57 win on Tuesday.

Salem moved to 6-15 with four of its wins this season coming against teams in the Northeast 8 conference.

Salem’s starting lineup on Tuesday featured one senior, one junior and three sophomores.

“The losses have been tough last year and this year, but as we start to come together as a team, we’re excited to see where will go and where it will lead to next year,” Manion said.

The game was a tight affair for most of the first half before Salem grabbed a three-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. Two baskets by Owen Davidson in the first minute of the fourth quarter extended the lead to seven and Salem was able to skillfully hold off a late charge by the Indians, 9-12.

“Our league really prepared us for a game like this,” Salem coach Jeff Andres said. “The physicality and the amount of senior-led teams we’ve played made us take some lumps for sure, but it came together. The guys are excited for each other. They’re moving the ball a little bit better than we have all season. It’s fun when you play that way.”

The game marked a return to Columbiana County for Girard sophomore multi-sport star Braxton Sloan, who spent his freshman year at Southern Local. Sloan, Girard’s leading scorer on the season, tallied a game-high 30 points.

“I think Salem was a tough team,” Sloan said. “We’re just trying to get back into the groove after coming off of five losses in a row. Salem spreads the ball really good and they’ve got ball handlers and shooters. We needed to step up on defense and had too many turnovers.”

Sloan went to Girard to have the opportunity to play against bigger schools and better competition. So far he hasn’t disappointed on the football gridiron or the hard court for the Trumbull County Indians.

As sophomore on the Girard football team he caught 29 passes for 569 yards with four touchdowns. On defense he had 80 tackles and six interceptions in 13 games.

He’s the team’s leading basketball scorer this year a season after he led Southern with a 21.3 points-per-game average. He also averaged 6.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 4.3 steals and 1.6 blocks. His 489 points last season with Southern were the fourth most in school history. He also set the Southern school record for steals in a season with 98.

He said he still keeps in contact with his old teammates on Southern and travels down to see games when he can. On Tuesday, his brother Jayce, a Southern Local graduate, was shooting video for Girard.

“My mom and dad were here tonight along with some of my old coaches,” Sloan said.

Sloan, who had 10 points in the first quarter, also said he enjoyed playing against some familiar opponents on Salem.

“I’ve played against some of these guys since the second and third grade,” Sloan said. “We always had that kind of friendly rivalry going on.”

Salem’s next game is Friday in Lisbon. It was a late addition to the schedule after East Palestine backed out of a game with the Quakers.

Salem will open the Div. IV tournament at home against Mogadore Field on Feb. 27. Field was in attendance on Tuesday to scout the Quakers. In a unique occurrence, Field is the same opponent the Salem girls basketball team was paired with to open the tournament.

“It was almost the same scenario at the draw,” Andres said. “They went on the board and Field jumped the girls. We went on the board and Field jumped us. To get a home game and to be playing well, it’s exciting to see.”

Game notes

• Andres, who played against teams like Girard while the Quakers were in the Mahoning Valley Conference when he was in high school, is excited for the possibility for Salem to make the move to the Northeast 8 if the league agrees to add the Quakers in wake of the collapse of the Eastern Buckeye Conference.

“Salem’s been up in the Youngstown area for most of my life, so I’m excited about it,” the 1993 Salem High School grad said. “Tonight I saw some people I knew from Girard. I also always liked going to the fieldhouse in Struthers and playing teams like Poland.”

• Girard head coach Nick Canterino, a Girard High School graduate, said when he was in junior high Salem was still a part of what was the All-American Conference. The coach who spent nine years at Campbell before coming to Girard this season is excited to see West Branch and Salem become a part of the Northeast 8.

“It will be cool if West Branch and Salem are both coming,” Canterino said. “At least that is what I heard, but I don’t know how true it is. We’ll see. It’s two quality programs.”

• Salem won the jayvee game, 56-52. Colton Hall had 17 points for the Quakers.

G: 16-18-10-13–57

S: 12-20-15-19–66

GIRARD SCORING: Braxton Sloan 11-2-30, Will Sanders 0-2-2, Joey Tedesco 2-1-5, Joey Alejars 0-0-0, Aiden Grant 1-0-3, Cam Herrick 2-4-8, Devin Sanders 2-0-4, Dylan Latell 2-1-5. TEAM TOTALS: 20, 10-13: 57.

SALEM SCORING: Ty Manion 10-4-26, Deontay Steele 2-2-7, Jack Andres 1-0-2, Max Zacharias 0-0-0, Weston Mango 4-1-12, Cam Camrtin 4-0-8, Owen Davidson 3-1-7, Braydon Fennema 1-2-4. TEAM TOTALS: 25, 10-17: 66.

Three-point goals: Girard 6 (Sloan 5, Grant), Salem 6 (Mango 3, Manion 2, Steele).