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Complete
Box Score
EDINBORO, PA – The Edinboro University men’s
basketball opened defense of its Pennsylvania State Athletic
Conference championship in impressive fashion on Tuesday night,
handing California(Pa.) a 97-78 defeat in a PSAC Quarterfinal
contest. The victory boosts the Fighting Scots to 19-9, while Cal’s
season comes to a close at 17-11.
Edinboro, the number two seed out of the West
Region, will now face West Chester on Friday, March 3 at 8 p.m.
The Golden Rams are the number one seed out of the East and
advanced to the semifinals with an 89-76 win over East
Stroudsburg. The other semifinal will feature Shippensburg, the
number one seed out of the West, against Mansfield, the East’s
number three seed. Shippensburg rallied for a 66-61 win over
Indiana(Pa.), while Mansfield was a 96-73 winner over Kutztown.
The Vulcans were no match for the trio of Torry
Mitchell (Erie, PA/Central), Daren Tielsch (McKees Rocks,
PA/Montour), and Chris Ravello (Odenton, MD/Archbishop
Spalding). The trio of seniors combined for 80 points in their
final appearance at McComb Fieldhouse, with Mitchell blistering
the nets for a career-high 35 points. The 5’10” guard
was on fire all night, making 11 of 19 field goals, including 8 of
14 three-pointers. He was particularly deadly in the first half
when he scored 21 points, making six three-pointers, as Edinboro
jumped to a 50-33 lead. Mitchell also contributed six rebounds and
six assists.
While Mitchell was doing the work on the
perimeter, Tielsch pounded the Vulcans on the inside. The 6’8”
forward made 11 of 17 field goals and finished the night with 27
points, adding 11 rebounds for his 14th double-double. He has now
scored 20-or-more points in each of the last five games, averaging
25.0 ppg. during that span, and has had 14 20+ games this season.
Ravello added 18 points, complementing Mitchell
outside with 7 of 11 field goals, including 3 of 6 three-pointers.
Edinboro finished the evening with 12 three-pointers in 25
attempts, tying the season-high for three-pointers made in a game.
Ryan McLemore (Garfield Heights, OH/St.
Peter Chanel) turned in a strong effort off the bench, scoring
four points, grabbing nine rebounds, and blocking four shots.
While Edinboro was shooting 56.1 percent from
the floor and committing just seven turnovers, tying a season low,
Cal was shooting just 38.4 percent from the floor. The Vulcans
came in shooting 50.1 percent from the floor as a team, good for
16th in Division II.
Cal led just once, that at 3-2, before Edinboro
jumped to a 15-9 lead. The Vulcans came back to tie the score with
14:03 to play on Osborne Gardner’s layup, but the Fighting
Scots went on a 12-2 run, with Ravello hitting a pair of three’s
and Mitchell capping the run with a long three. Cal would close to
six points at 29-23, but Edinboro answered with a 16-4 burst, as
Mitchell and Ravello each contributed five points. That gave
Edinboro a 45-27 lead, and Cal never got closer than 15 points the
rest of the way. Edinboro enjoyed its largest lead at 71-42, 29
points, with 13:11 remaining.
Edinboro’s 97 points tied the season high.
The Scots earlier scored 97 against Penn State New Kensington.
Tonight’s game was in stark contrast to
the first two meetings. Edinboro made a last second shot for a
61-60 win in the first meeting, while Cal routed the Fighting
Scots, 78-63, in the second meeting. |
