Anderson's hot hand propels Orioles to 60-51 win over Cards

Rocky Grove's Landen Carter drove the lane in the early seconds of the second half to tie up the game with Cochranton who took a two point lead into the half. 

He was fouled. ​

The Orioles took the lead after Carter's "and one" free throw and never gave it up again. Seconds later, almost to show that all the kinks the Orioles had in the first half were worked out, Carter snagged a tough rebound and took it coast-to-coast for another bucket.

Then Schiffer Anderson got a bucket and a foul to increase the lead. Josh Stevenson got a terrific steal and fed Carter, who again took it the length of the court for a layup.

Anderson got red hot, scoring another bucket then another and another.

The Orioles were cooking with gas, outscoring the Cardinals 21 to six in the third frame. It took the Cardinals nearly five minutes to score their first basket of the second half.

Rocky Grove's defense tightened, holding Cochranton's Walker Carroll to just three in the third. To put that in perspective, Carroll had 32 points on the night, 15 in the fourth quarter as the red birds tried to come back.

Despite Cochranton's last-minute efforts to slow the clock by sending the Orioles to the foul line over and over, Rocky Grove hung on to win 60-51 Tuesday night in Oil City.  

Anderson led the Orioles with 24 points, including five from beyond the arc. Carter pumped in 13 and Noah Baughman added 11. Aiden Focht had a good night with seven while Jamison Hughes and Connor Ritchey combined for five.

Rocky Grove will have a tough foe on Friday when they take on Farrell at a site and time to be determined. Farrell crushed the Orioles twice this season already.

Regardless of the outcome, both teams will advance in the 1A division of the PIAA State Tournament beginning a week from Friday.

The Rocky Grove girls will be in action tonight (February 28) at 7:30 p.m. at Sharon High School as they take on the Jamestown Muskies.