Madonna's rally shoots down Conotton Valley

WEIRTON - Madonna's goal of capturing back-to-back Wheeling Hospital Ohio Valley Athletic Conference tournament championships remained alive Tuesday because Ross Comis and Nick Battista made big plays when they mattered the most.

Comis, a sophomore, knocked down a triple and deuce to bring his team even then give it the lead for good. Battista, the senior floor general, put things on ice with two free throw makes as the top-seeded Blue Dons earned a thrilling 58-54 victory over Conotton Valley inside the Dube Dome.

The victory sends George Vargo and his 17-3 club into Saturday's Class A title game on Ohio University's Eastern Campus against Beallsville, a 73-61 winner against Morgantown Trinity.

Action will tip off at 9:30 a.m. The Rockets, who earned the fourth seed in their first OVAC season, stand at 13-5 and will play for third place Friday.

Things were looking bleak for Madonna after four straight points by Jet Masters put the visitors ahead 54-51. Comis' three-ball, coming off a Battista assist, tied the score with 49 ticks remaining. His two-pointer in the paint, which followed a Battista steal, made it 56-54. Madonna got the ball right back after its defense forced a turnover. That possession resulted in Battista being money from the stripe.

"This was just a great team effort," a jubilant Vargo said. "Ross hit the three then the deuce. Nick had that great steal. We forced some turnovers there at the end. It was just a total team effort."

Early on, it appeared Mike Fierbaugh's Rockets were going to run the Dons out of the Dome. After Drazen Frankovitch turned a Battista pass into two points, the Rockets ran off 14 straight. Zac Lyon, a 6-5 junior, buried three in a row from behind the arc to key the spurt. Brandon Bailey, CV's 6-6 junior post player, contributed eight and the visitors were up 23-12 after one.

Battista opened the second quarter by swishing two free tosses. Comis and Clay Rokisky had back-to-back three-pointers, both coming off Batti! sta feed s. Conotton Valley would hang on, however, and take a 33-24 advantage into the intermission.

Lyon and Bailey combined for 25 of the 33 markers. Madonna struggled from the floor during the first 16 minutes, connecting on just seven of 34 tries. From behind the arc, the Dons made only two of 14.

Vargo's quint began the third quarter with a different approach on the offensive end. Hitting five of its first six shots (all coming from the paint), Madonna went on a 12-2 run. It took the lead for the first time since the opening quarter when Comis got a layup off a Rokisky pass.

The stanza ended with the Blue Dons clinging to a 44-41 lead. Frankovitch finished the third with eight points and Rokisky four.

"You didn't have to be a very smart man to figure out what was going in the first half," Vargo noted. "Drazen and Clay were not taking the ball to the hole. We got our first six points in the second half from the paint. We have to do that. It was just good X's and O's."

The final quarter was a back and forth affair before Comis and Battista stepped forward during the final minute.

"In the second half, we came out and put things together," Vargo added. "We ran the offense we wanted to run. Taking the ball to the pain really helped.

"Plus, our full court pressure really paid off and forced them to burn two time outs. I have to give coach Michael Hagg credit for the special defense he developed for us tonight."

The "take it to the paint" offensive approach did wonders for Madonna's shooting performance. In the second half, the Dons were 12 of 24 and finished the night 19 of 58.

Comis paced the winners in scoring with 16. Frankovitch added 15 and hauled down nine of his team's 26 rebounds. Rokisky contributed 11 and Battista 10 to go with his seven assists, three steals and seven rebounds. Comis also collected three steals.

Bailey took game scoring hones with 17. He also grabbed eight strays (CV had 29 team rebounds). Lyon, held scoreless in the second ha! lf, fini shed with 16 and Masters 13. The Rockets were 22 of 51 from the field.

"We just made too many mistakes and had too many turnovers (CV finished 17)," Fierbaugh said. "Credit Madonna, they put the pressure on us. They earned this win with their pressure. I knew it was going to be a good game and I was hoping it would go our way. That didn't happen.

"I'm proud of the kids, they worked hard. It wasn't their work ethic that beat them, it was just too many little mistakes. You can't do that and beat a good team. We're real happy with the OVAC process. We're looking forward to next year and giving it another shot."

Vargo admitted "it feels great to go and defend our title."

"Conotton Valley is a great team," he noted. "Bailey and Lyon are nice ball players. That's basically an all junior team. They are going to be making some smoke next year."

Madonna 58, Conotton Valley 54

Conotton Valley 23 10 8 13 - 54

Madonna 12 12 20 14 - 58

CONOTTON VALLEY (13-5): Bowdish 1 0-0 2; Masters 6 1-1 13; Rutledge 1 0-0 2; Carrothers 2 0-3 4; Lyon 6 0-0 16; Bailey 6 5-6 17. TOTALS: 22 6-10 54. 3-pointers: Lyon (4).

MADONNA (17-3): Comis 6 2-3 16; Battista 2 6-6 10; Mogan 1 0-2 2; Egyud 0 2-2 2; Rokisky 4 2-3 11; Pietranton 1 0-0 2; Frankovitch 5 5-7 15; Martin 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 19 17-23 58. 3-pointers: Comis (2), Rokisky.