Garrettsville, OH- Two old Portage County rivals met in round 1 of the Division 3 - Region 9 Sectional tournament on Tuesday night as the Crestwood Red Devils faced off against the Garfield G-MEN. The fans packed the stands on both sides and both student sections were hyped and ready to roar.
Garfield got on the board first after senior forward Carter Bates converted a pair of free throws. Crestwood junior forward Jimmy Peters answered right back with an and-one inside converting the free throw for the Red Devils first points. Crestwood went on a 7-2 run midway thru the quarter capped off by a long three ball from Charlie Schweickert to take a 10-6 lead with 3:50 to play. Garfield tied it at 10 after a three ball of their own from Jackson Sommer. Red Devils point guard Ty Fannin scored the final three points of the opening frame to give Crestwood a 13-10 lead after one.
Sommer started quarter two for Garfield with another three tying the game at 13. After a Peters basket down low for Crestwood, the G-MEN went on an 8-2 run with five of the points coming courtesy of sophomore forward Cade Rock. That put Garfield up 21-17 with under two minutes to play in the half. Garfield would close out the half with a pair of Sommer free throws to take a 24-21 lead. Jackson Sommer led the way with 10 points while Cade Rock chipped in 6 points and 8 rebounds. The G-MEN held Dekota Johnson, the counties leading scorer, to just 2 first half points.
Crestwood came out strong to start the third quarter as Johnson was able to get his shot going after struggling from the field in the first half. His three ball with 5:20 left gave Crestwood back the lead at 31-29. From there Garfield was able to close the quarter on a 7-1 run to take a 36-32 lead after three. Dekota Johnson had 7 points in the third hitting a pair of three pointers.
The stage was set for a big fourth quarter. Dekota Johnson opened the fourth with a steal and score to pull Crestwood within two points. After Sommer split two free throws for Garfield, Augie Schweickert hit a three and Jimmy Peters scored inside to put Crestwood up 39-37. Garfield would answer back in a big way as they ran off nine straight points with the final five coming from Preston Gedeon after a big three ball.
Johnson was not going to let the G-MEN put this one away as he rattled off seven straight points of his own to tie the score at 46 with under a minute to play. That would be the last points Crestwood would be able to score as the G-MEN closed it out at the free throw line with Sommer calmly knocking down two with 6 seconds remaining to give Garfield the 50-46 win.
Jackson Sommer topped Garfield with 15 points and 8 rebounds. Preston Gedeon chipped in 14 points while Cade Rock posted a double/double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Dekota Johnson rebounded from a tough first half to score 18 for Crestwood. Jimmy Peters had 14 points and 7 rebounds.
The G-MEN advance to the Sectional title game on Friday night at #4 Beachwood.
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