Euclid, Ohio — The rivalry between Villa Angela- St. Joseph (2-3) and Euclid (0-6) continued in Harold Daugherty gym. Euclid got the best of Joes winning the game 60-58.
Joes got out to a quick lead when Sean Shenker hit a three and Jeremiah Martin scored a layup to put them up 7-2. Jerome Davis responded with a basket around five minutes left.
A few possessions later Euclid tied it at nine a piece. They took a 15-14 lead around two minutes left with a basket from Darrien Davis. An and one from Quandell Wright sparked a 6-0 run for Joes. Euclid ended the 1st quarter on top leading 22-21 thanks to a Thai Duncan pull up three.
Both teams came out in the second quarter slowly. Thai started to get rolling for Euclid. He assisted on a Malachai Spikes layup and scored a floater of his own around the 4:30 mark.
A couple of possessions later Joes tied it at 27 with two free throws from Martin. Ari Jones took the lead back for Euclid with a three at the 1:50 mark. Kye Owens answered right back with a mid range jumper. Euclid went into halftime up 33-31 thanks to a last second bucket from Myckel Davis.
Both teams struggled in the first few minutes of the third quarter before Antonio Brown got going. He scored eight points in the quarter. Brown started with a drop step layup to tie it at 33. He scored two more consecutive points which brought joes within one around 5 minutes left. Sean Shenker followed up with a three pointer and they led 41-39 with three minutes to go.
Joes extended the lead with another Brown basket and a runner from Martin. Euclid called a timeout down 46-39 with 1:38 to go. Thai Duncan came straight out of the timeout with back to back threes. The quarter ended with joes up 50-45.
Neither team scored until Anthony Moore hit a three prompting a timeout, Euclid trailed 50-48 with five minutes to go in the game.
Quandell Wright and Anthony Moore traded buckets which left Joes up 54-51 with 3 minutes to go. A free throw from Jerome Davis brought Euclid within two and Thai Duncan tied the game at 54 with a euro step layup, two minutes remaining.
Jeremiah Martin responded with a driving layup but Thai tied it again with a pull up mid range, forcing a Joes timeout with one minute remaining.
Euclid put the game away thanks to a Jerome Davis coast to coast driving layup. Darrien Davis sealed it with a layup assisted by Thai Duncan.
The Panthers came out victorious, winning 60-58.
Thai Duncan led Euclid with 15 points and Anthony Moore was right behind him with 13. Quandell Wright for Joes led all scorers with 17 points, Martin added 14.
When asked about Thai Duncan’s performance, Euclid Head Coach Justin Dobbins had this to say.
“Thai had a great game, he started the game off slow but defensively he was there," said Dobbins. "I know he’s a kid that can handle a lot of pressure..The two big threes that he hit down the stretch really showed his poise in being a captain.”
Euclid will be back in action Friday December 22nd at 2:30 PM on the road vs Gilmour Academy.