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East Palestine wins in fourth quarter

East Palestine 45, Valley Christian 41 EAST PALESTINE — It’s always close when East Palestine plays Valley Christian. The 23rd-seeded Bulldogs went on a 17-5 fourth-quarter run to rally past the 27th-seeded Eagles, 45-41, in a Division VI girls basketball sectional opener Tuesday. All three games the two teams played this season were decided by four points or less with East Palestine winning two of them. East Palestine (11-12) advances to play second-seeded Canton Central Catholic (17-5) in a sectional final at 7 p.m. Thursday. The Crusaders opened the season with 10 straight ...

Beavers miss Hill in loss to South Range

South Range 65, Beaver Local 50 CALCUTTA — Beaver Local had a big hole in the lineup Tuesday. The Beavers, playing without injured 6-foot-7 All-Ohioan Owen Hill, dropped a 65-50 decision to South Range. The Raiders improve to 12-8 and will close out the regular season by hosting Campbell on Friday and West Branch on Saturday. The Beavers finish the regular season with a 16-6 record. Hill is still battling a foot injury that forced him to miss five games in January and his status for the sectional tournament opener next week is uncertain. Fourth-seeded Beaver Local will host ...

Salem entertains Northeast 8 bid

SALEM — Salem athletic director Matt Freeman said the school district was caught off guard when it found out that Carrollton, Minerva and Marlington were leaving the Eastern Buckeye Conference for a new league. Like West Branch, Salem heard rumors of the league’s probable demise a week before the official announcement came on Friday. “It seems like it’s no longer about geography or size of the school,” Freeman said. Salem’s athletic department and administration had a meeting with its coaches on Sunday and the path forward will be applying to the Northeast 8. ...

SPORTS BRIEFING

Golden Eagles fall short of Valley HANOVERTON — Valley Christian scored a 32-25 win over United in a low scoring boys basketball contest on Monday. Abram Ceresna had eight points for the Golden Eagles, 11-11, 7-7 in the Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference. Valley Christian is 11-8 and 10-4 in the EOAC. Valley won the jayvee game, 41-31. Ryan Miller scored 15 for United. United hosts Mogadore in the Div. VI sectional tournament on Feb. 26. VC: 14-12-2-4—32 UN: 4-4-12-5—25 VALLEY CHRISTIAN SCORING: K. Swingett 3-0-6, Tutwiler 1-0-2, Valentino 0-1-1, Miller 4-0-10, ...

Heartland repeats in OVAC

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Heartland Christian is pointed into the right direction heading into the tournament. The Lions repeated as OVAC Class A champions on Saturday with a 66-55 victory over Frontier at the ECO Center. Just like he did last season, Heartland senior Collin Kalaher was named the MVP as he scored 23 points in the win. Reagan Kalaher helped him out ith 13 points, while Corban Seuita added 11 points. Heartland led by four after the first quarter and seven at the half, but Frontier (12-6) cut the lead to four heading into the fourth quarter. Heartland is 17-4 and ...

Beavers put on a show

WELLSVILLE — Beaver Local brought its big guns to the Wellsville Buck Bailey Invitational and came away with a first place finish including seven individual titles. The Beavers scored 251 points to Minerva’s 225 to win the tournament. Jordan Bates (106 pounds), Jeryck Boyd (113), Leo Wilkes (132), Matthew Tomaino (144), Bobby Buchheit (150), Jake Hughes (165) and Robert Marra (215) all took home titles for the Beavers. Salem’s Will Harmon (157), Columbiana’s Jensen Nordquist (190) and Leetonia’s Dylan Bennett (285) all placed second. TEAM STANDINGS: 1. Beaver 251, 2. ...