MEADVILLE, Pa. – In a fast-paced, back-and-forth affair, McDowell got 30 points from Tyler Grove in a key Region 7 victory over Meadville.
Grove and Meadville’s Jack Burchard traded 3’s in the fourth quarter, with Burchard’s giving Meadville a 66-65 lead with 2:55 to play.
But McDowell responded by scoring the final 10-4 run to close the game, taking the lead for good on Stephon Porter’s layup with 2:40 to play.
“Meadville’s a great team, they have two really good guards that are great shooters,” Grove said during the Cole Orthodontic Associates postgame interview. “This is just a fun place to play and it’s always fun to get a win here.”
See Grove’s full interview:
Landon Marsh had eight points off the bench for the Trojans (9-1 overall, 5-0 Region 7), including a shot that gave McDowell a 69-66 lead with 1:30 to play.
Meadville (6-8, 2-3) came up empty on a couple of offensive trips down the stretch, but Burchard was able to draw a foul and knock down a pair of free throws to get the Bulldogs back within two, 70-68 with 50.9 seconds to play.
Grove was then fouled and knocked down both shots, and Meadville turned the ball over on its next possession to essentially put the game away.
Lucas Luteran scored 17 of his 23 points in the first half for Meadville, while Kamden Kramer scored 13 of his 17 for the Trojans McDowell led by two, 34-32 at the half.
Luteran came out and buried a 3 to start the third and two more from Burchard gave Meadville a 42-36 lead out of the gate in the second half.
The lead swelled to as many as seven for the Bulldogs, 50-43, after a Tykie Butler jumper with 3:50 to go in the third.
McDowell answered with a 9-2 run to get the game back to even, 52-52 after the third quarter, with Grove scoring six of those points and Leo Finazzo knocking down a 3.
Meadville led by four, 58-54 early in the fourth after a Kellen Ball 3 before McDowell rallied.
Quentin Orlando added seven points for McDowell while Porter had six.
“We’ve just gotten closer as a team,” Grove said. “We really play for each other. That’s the biggest thing. We play for each other and we’re all brothers. That’s the most important thing.”
Burchard matched Luteran’s 23 for Meadville and Ball had 13.
Despite the loss, Meadville knocked down 14 3’s, with Luteran hitting seven.
McDowell hosts rival Cathedral Prep on Tuesday, while Meadville hosts Erie, also on Tuesday.
