Warren took some hard knocks in a 69-47 setback to Upper Arlington in an Ohio River Classic boys' basketball game at Marietta College's Ban Johnson Arena Saturday.
And, Blane Maddox is hoping that the Warriors' first defeat of the season is not forgotten by his team.
"We don't want to forget it," said the veteran Warren boss, who is one win shy of career 200. "We want to learn from it. That's why we put them (Upper Arlington) on the schedule. It was a good experience. We've got to grow up and we've got to get better."
Article Photos
Photo courtesy of Robin Pannell
Warren point guard Evan Yabs (3) battles Upper Arlington’s Danny Hummer (2) for the ball during Ohio River Classic boys’ basketball action at Marietta College’s Ban Johnson Arena Saturday. The Warriors suffered their first defeat of the season, 69-47.
Evan French scored a game-high 22 points and Reece Patton added 10 as Warren dropped to 5-1 overall on the campaign, while UA improved to 5-4. Junior guards' Danny Hummer (17) and Kevin Vannatta (19) combined to tally 36 points to pace the Bears. Gabe Akins netted nine.
"This was a similar game to last night except we were able to kind of keep that spacing," said Upper Arlington head coach Tim Casey, whose Bears dropped a 66-63 decision to St. Clairsville at BJA Friday night. "We showed poise and patience - and still stayed aggressive."
After UA jumped out to a quick 9-0 lead on points by Akins, Logan Richter and Vannatta, it never looked back. Warren, which had not competed in a game since Dec. 15, didn't get on the scoreboard until French knocked down a three at the 4:30 mark.
Fact Box
at Ban Johnson Arena
Ohio River Classic
Upper Arlington 69, Warren 47
Upper Arlington 20 16 19 14 - 69
Warren 10 9 14 14 - 47
UPPER ARLINGTON (5-4)
Danny Hummer 7 3-4 17, Kevin Vannatta 8 1-3 19, Austin Ping 2 1-2 5, Logan Richter 2 0-0 4, Corbin Dennis 0 0-0 0, Harrison Heath 0 0-0 0, Matt Skidmore 3 0-0 6, Gabe Akins 5 0-0 9, Chris Allocco 1 0-0 3, Carter Casey 0 2-2 2, Spencer Pinnick 0 0-0 0, Austin Heath 0 0-0 0, Michael McGovern 0 0-0 0, Oscar Malinowski 2 0-0 4, Wynn Brown 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 29 7-12 69. 3pt goals: Vannatta 2, Akins 1, Allocco 1.
WARREN (5-1)
Evan French 8 2-2 22, Michael Hall 1 0-0 2, Danny Pannell 1 0-0 3, Adam Lang 0 2-2 2, Evan Yabs 1 0-0 2, Reece Patton 4 2-2 10, Mat Drayer 0 0-0 0, Corey Newlon 0 0-0 0, Andrew Drayer 0 0-0 0, Dylan Leffingwell 2 2-3 6, Marshall Church 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 17 8-9 47. 3pt goals: French 4, Pannell 1.
Team stats: Shooting: UA 29-50 (58 percent), W 17-47 (36 percent); Rebounds: UA 22, W 18 (Patton 6); Assists: UA 22, W 14 (Patton 5); Steals: UA 12, W 4; Turnovers; UA 10, W 17
Next game: Logan at Warren at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday
"I think what got us first was the quickness of the game," Maddox said. "We practice in a small gym and we get into a large gym, and when you get teams that can run, it really showed."
Vannatta, who had 11 first-quarter points, gave UA its first double-digit advantage, 14-3, when he drained a three with under four minutes left in the period. At the end of one, UA led 20-10.
In the second stanza, Upper Arlington maintained its double-digit lead, and outpointed Warren 16-9 for a 36-19 lead at the intermission. Non-starter Dylan Leffingwell and French, with five and four points, respectively, were the Warriors' only scorers during the second eight minutes of play.
After the break, the rout resumed with Akins and Hummer scoring six points apiece in the third quarter to make it 55-33. French had six points in the stanza for the Warriors.
Upper Arlington, which shot 58 percent (29 of 50) from the floor, then pretty much coasted home with the victory in the final period.
"I know we didn't want to come out like that, very slow," Maddox said. "But then we competed and kept it to that 20-range. It could've easily been 40. But we found a way to compete and keep it close. We hit some shots. We'll try to find a way to get 20 points better."
Said Casey, "I think we played two good teams down in this area and to come away empty would've been a long trip back. It was kind of a little sense of urgency, and our guys responded and played well."
Warren is scheduled to host Logan in a Southeastern Ohio Athletic League game at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. This is a make-up game from Dec. 21.
"We'll watch that tape (of the Upper Arlington game) and try to learn from that," Maddox said. "Then, we'll see what we're made of on Wednesday night."
