Barrage of 3-pointers leads New Philadelphia to win over visiting Steubenville

NEW PHILADELPHIA — It was raining inside New Philadelphia’s gym Wednesday night. No, not precipitation, but 3-pointers by the Quakers.

Led by sharpshooting guard Colton Slaughter, New Philadelphia drained 12 triples en route to a 65-38 romp over visiting Steubenville.

“(The Quakers) played well, they’re a good team and they shoot the ball well,” Steubenville coach Mike Haney said. “Slaughter got on fire. We told the guys if you give him any bit of space, he’s going to pull up and he can make it, and he did.”

“It’s always tough to play against a team that’s as chaotic as that,” New Philadelphia coach Zach Ross said of the fast-paced, aggressive nature of the game in which a combined 33 fouls were called. “They want to get you out of your rhythm and I thought our guys did a good job of just making the next right play and being together.”

Slaughter took game-high scoring honors with 21 points, including four triples, while guard Reid Wells finished with 16, including four treys and Owen Miller added nine points, all on a trio of 3s.

“I had a rough patch in the season, but my teammates and coaches helped me in the right spots, so I think that really helped tonight,” Slaughter said. “I’ve played the game for a long time, so I think that helps a little, too.”

Slaughter is one of three seniors on the team. He understands this is his last go-around at the high school level, which fuels his motivation to do well.

“The three seniors (Slaughter, Owen Schoelles and Owen Miller) are really trying to pull it together, we only have five guaranteed games left — hopefully, more,” Slaughter said. “Everybody is kind of banding together because we’re getting close to the end.”

Leading Steubenville’s offense was freshman guard Santino Haney who tallied 15 points despite missing time in foul trouble. Teammates Trevon Wiggins and Kyleigh Hopkins ended with seven points apiece as New Philadelphia’s defense stymied the Big Red inside as well as on the perimeter.

“(The Quakers) shot it well and we didn’t shoot it well,” Haney said. “We had another starter go out yesterday, so you have to fight through it with the next man up.”

With the win, the Quakers raised their overall record to 11-7, while Big Red fell to 7-11 and has lost four straight.

Another key to the win for the Quakers was rebounding. New Philadelphia dominated the glass 24-12, as 6-foot-6 Owen Schoelles paced the winners with eight caroms and Slaughter pulled down six rebounds.

“We definitely dominated the boards,” Ross said. “I know Schoelles came in at halftime and he wanted to see the rebounding stats. He saw we were up 16-6 and he said, 'Let’s keep it going.' So he had a great message. I know he doesn’t score a lot but he’s such a great kid and a great leader for us, and obviously I think he dominated the glass.”

Ross said playing in the rugged Ohio Cardinal Conference with teams such as Lexington and Mansfield helps the Division II Quakers.

“We have a lot of young guys playing now, too, and we got to empty our bench," Ross said. "We’ve got some young guys growing up and some seniors who continue to be great leaders for all of them.”

New Philadelphia came out firing early as the Quakers jumped out to a 16-10 lead with Slaughter scoring nine of his 21 points in the first quarter.

The Quakers’ onslaught from long range continued in the second quarter, with guard Reid Wells getting in the act with 12 of his 16 points, including three 3-pointers. It all added up to a 15-point (35-20) lead by the hosts at halftime.

The Quakers expanded their advantage to 24 points (52-28) after three quarters and coasted home to the win in the fourth. New Philadelphia actually took its largest lead of the evening at 27 points (65-38) at game’s end. That occurred with the Quakers’ backups, who entered the contest with 3:32 remaining, finishing out the contest.

The Quakers also captured the junior varsity win over Steubenville by a 52-33 final.

The Quakers travel to Mansfield Senior on Friday night for an Ohio Cardinal Conference game.

“(The Tygers) are second in the league right behind Lexington,” Ross said. ”They got us in a close one here and it is a really tough place to play but I’m really looking forward to the challenge. I can’t wait to get back to work.”

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: New Philadelphia gets hot from deep, takes down Steubenville