| Rocky Grove put together a balanced offensive attack, strong defensive rebounding and a dominating third quarter to come from behind to beat Oil City 57-48 on the first day of the Christmas basketball tournament at Franklin. The Oilers held the upper hand for the first half of the game, grabbing the first bucket about a minute into the game. Aiden Focht scored eight of the Orioles’ 11 points in the first quarter to help keep Rocky Grove within striking distance after the first quarter. Going into the second quarter with a two-point margin, Oil City hit for seven unanswered points to open the frame and jump out to a 20-11 lead. Scoring fell flat for about three minutes before Rocky Grove went on a short run of their own to pull back within three. The Oilers got one more basket and Focht added a foul shot for the Orioles before the stanza ended 22-18 Oil City. After the half, the Orioles offensive hit a rhythm that Oil City couldn’t figure out how to stop. Noah Baughman got things started with this first three-pointer of the game. Schiffer Anderson scored the next four points, before Baughman hit for another two before Landen Carter also got a basket. Oil City scored their only points of the third quarter with two points at the 2:30 minute mark. Orioles scored 12 unanswered points to end the period, including six from Carter, three from Focht, two from Connor Ritchey and one from Anderson, to complete a 23-2 Rocky Grove run in the third. The offensive action continued in the fourth as the Oilers used a full court press to attempt a comeback as the two teams traded baskets to open the period. Oil City went on a 13-2 run in two minutes of play to pull within nine at 55-46 with less than 90 seconds to go. Rocky Grove used strategic timeouts and played keep away from from the Oilers forcing them to foul to stop the clock. In the final minute, Oil City could only manage one more basket to close the gap to seven. In a fitting end for the Orioles, Focht hit two foul shots with less than 15 seconds to close out the game and give Rocky Grove a 57-48 win. Focht scored a game-high 18 points. Carter had 13. Anderson and Ritchey had nine apiece and Baughman had 8. Franklin defeated Karns City 71-61 to close out the first night of tournament action. Pictures from that game can be found here. Rocky Grove will return to action against Franklin tomorrow at 7 p.m. Oil City will play against Karns City at 5:30 p.m. |        |
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