Ellwood City thought it had the game under control, but a furious Riverside rally nearly took the win away from the Wolverines. Ellwood City prevailed to capture a rare sweep of its arch rival.
ELLWOOD CITY – As Ellwood City students exuberantly worked their way through the “I Believe We Will Win” chant, Wolverines coach Steve Antuono stepped back onto the court with his cell phone in hand to film it.
A smile hadn’t left Antuono’s face since the final buzzer sounded. He had just witnessed his Wolverines squad pull off something that hasn’t happened too often in recent years.
Ellwood City survived a furious rally by Riverside to hold on for a 63-54 win Friday night. It’s just the second time in the last 15 years that the Wolverines completed a season sweep of their arch rival.
“It’s unbelievable just for what this game means to this town. There’s nothing quite like it,” Antuono said. “Those were two huge wins for us, to do it there and then to do it in this fashion and hang on the way they did.”
The win was a milestone for Ellwood City in multiple ways. Prior to this season, Ellwood City was just 3-15 against Riverside in the past 15 years. It also provided Ellwood City with its 12th win of the year, just the the third time in 15 years that the Wolverines have had more than 10 wins in a season.
“Our kids are on a natural high right now,” Antuono said. “They beat their rival twice, something that hasn’t been done here in a long, long time.”
The victory also provided Ellwood City with some breathing room in the Section 1-3A playoff race. While Lincoln Park and Aliquippa lead the section, the Wolverines are now comfortably in third place. One win in Ellwood's final three games would clinch third place and potentially a decent seed in the playoffs.
“We’ve accomplished our goals so far,” Antuono said, “and we’re going to try — by the strength of our schedule — get a good seed and try to advance and enjoy the rest of the journey.”
It almost all went south Friday night. For three quarters, Ellwood City exerted its dominance over the Panthers. They knocked down outside shots, scored in transition and controlled the paint. By the time the third quarter ended, the Wolverines led 54-33.
That’s when Riverside mounted its comeback behind a trapping, full-court press. Turnover after turnover sparked a 13-0 Panthers run in the first four minutes of the final frame. By the time the clock ticked inside of two minutes, Riverside had closed the gap to 57-52.
That’s when Ellwood City made its stand. Up 59-54 with 54.6 seconds left, the Wolverines forced a Riverside turnover to begin a parade of foul shots. Senior Broc Boariu finally got two free throws to drop with 29.8 seconds left, and Sean Busby hit two more to ice the game.
“As a senior, I was thinking we had to calm everyone down,” Busby said. “Our emotions were running high, and they were on a run. We just had to think through it, not turn the ball over and just make sure we ran our plays.”
Boariu led Ellwood City with 17 points while Busby chipped in 16 as four Wolverines finished in double figures. Austin Dambach and Gunnar Boehm led Riverside with 16 points apiece.
“We’ve still got three big section games that we really do think we could win,” Boariu said. “We just have to stay composed. Our chemistry was perfect. Everyone was locked in and everyone contributed perfectly.”