Frazier beats Charleroi; streak rises to 7
By Jose Negron
jnegron@yourmvi.com
Over the last two seasons playing in Section 4-3A, Frazier took its fair share of lumps playing against teams like Charleroi.
The Cougars entered Tuesday having won four straight meetings with the Commodores, who collected a combined 12 victories over their previous two campaigns.
This year, however, things have been trending upward for the team from Perryopolis
The positive results continued for Class 2A Frazier as it extended its winning streak to seven games and picked up an elusive 58-46 road victory over Class 3A Charleroi in nonsection play.
The Commodores (13-3), who are currently sitting in first place in Section 4-2A, held a slim 47-45 lead with 5:34 remaining in the game before outscoring the Cougars (7-5) by an 11-1 margin in the final five and a half minutes to seal the win.
“This feels really good,” Frazier head coach Zach Keefer said. “The kids were hungry and knowing we were coming here, we knew it would mean a little bit more if we could beat them on their home floor.”
Charleroi trailed by three heading into the fourth quarter and trimmed its deficit down to two within the first two and a half minutes.
The Cougars, however, were dealt with a significant blow seconds into the final frame as Will Wagner was hit with his fifth foul, leaving Charleroi without its leading scorer.
“I didn’t think the officials did us any favors,” Charleroi head coach Bill Wiltz said. “Wagner probably only played about 10 minutes of that game, so him not playing really hurt us. I’m just not real happy with the way it went.”
The play of senior standout Owen Newcomer helped guide Frazier, especially in the third quarter after going down 25-21 at halftime.
Newcomer drained four of his six 3-pointers and scored 14 of his 24 points to help spark the Commodores’ rally in the third.
“We talk about it all the time, but on any given night, any one of these guys can catch fire,” Keefer said. “I can’t say enough about Owen’s shooting. He’s a pure shooter and if you give him space, he’s going to take it. He made us successful tonight.”
Frazier relied on a 7-0 run late in the first quarter to gain some separation and take a 15-10 lead into the second.
In that second frame, the Commodores lead was trimmed to four at 19-15 before the Cougars went on a run of their own.
After sitting on the bench with three fouls, Wagner re-entered the game for Charleroi with under five minutes left and provided a spark for the offense, scoring seven points during a 10-2 run that gave the Cougars a four-point edge at the break.
“I knew without him we had problems,” Wiltz said of Wagner. “We had to get him in and I had to roll the dice.”
Charleroi’s zone defense presented problems for Frazier in the second as the Commodores were limited to just six points.
“We just needed to settle in a little bit. We had some uncharacteristic turnovers against that zone and I think we got a little lackadaisical in our passing,” Keefer said. “We weren’t seeing the floor clearly and we were lucky the score was what it was.”
Wagner was one of four Charleroi players in double figures as he scored 11 points in the loss. Gavin Theys led the team with 13 points, while Zach Usher and Ben Shields each added 10.
Despite the balance, Wiltz wasn’t happy with his team’s offensive production, especially down the stretch.
“Our shooting was off, we couldn’t make a three,” Wiltz said. “We had some people miss some shots that normally don’t.”
Newcomer was joined in double figures by the duo of Luke Santo and Colton Arison, both of whom netted 10 points. Newcomer and Santo have now finished in double figures in each of Frazier’s 16 games this season.
The Commodores return to action Thursday at home against California. Charleroi has a quick turnaround as it hosts Brentwood tonight.
