Salem takes consolation tilt

LISBON –Evan Jones had 14 points and Colin Riesen added 13 points to lead Salem to a 54-47 victory over Lisbon on Saturday in the Lisbon Tip-Off Tournament consolation contest.

Deontay Steelee added nine points for the Quakers, 1-1.

For Lisbon (0-2), Luke Kraft had 12 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, while A.J. Ramgeet had 14 points, six rebouns, eight assists and five steals. Blaine Barnes added 10 points.

Mogadore ran away with the championship as it posted a 61-39 victory over Heartland in the nightcap.

Making the all-tournament team were Lisbon’s A.J. Ramgeet, Salem’s Colin Riesen, Mogadore’s Jordon Smith, Mogadore’s Nick Stephenson and Heartland’s Colin Kalaher.

Lisbon plays a special ‘Hoops at Noon’ contest on Friday at Liberty.

Salem is at Alliance on Friday.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Mogadore 61, Heartland 39

HC: 8-8-9-14–39

MO: 20-8-19-14–61

CONSOLATION

Salem 54, Lisbon 47

SA: 10-15-12-17–54

LI: 9-14-10-14–47

SALEM SCORING: Ty Manion 3-0-8, Deontay Steele 3-3-9, Colin Riesen 6-1-13, Chase Valerio 0-0-0, Jack Andres 1-2-4, Gavin Colbert 0-0-0, Ben Severe 0-0-0, Andrew Beck 0-0-0, Cletiz Monroy 2-2-6, Evan Jones 6-2-14. TEAM TOTALS: 21, 10-17: 54.

LISBON SCORING: Aiden Ramgeet 3-0-6, Blaine Barnes 5-0-10, Luke Kraft 6-0-12, Tim Brandon 0-0-0, A.J. Ramgeet 5-2-14, Ashton Hinchcliffe 0-0-0, Alex Brown 2-0-5, Aiden Myers 0-0-0. TEAM TOTALS: 21, 2-3: 47.

Three-point goals; Salem 2 (Manion), Lisbon 3 (A.J. Ramgeet 2, Brown).

Dailey scores 18 against Youngstown State

YOUNGSTOWN — Gabe Dynes scored 23 points as Youngstown State routed NCAA Division III-member Bethany 128-60 on Saturday night.

Dynes also had eight rebounds for the Penguins (3-5). Cris Carroll scored 20 points and added eight rebounds. Nico Galette finished 6 of 6 from the field to finish with 15 points, while adding seven rebounds and eight assists.

The Bison were led by East Liverpool graduate Cole Dailey, who recorded 18 points, six rebounds and one steal. Dailey was 7 of 11 from the field. Cole Matthews added eight points for Bethany (WV). Ryan Reasbeck finished with seven points.

YSU women fall to Towson

MANATI, Puerto Rico — Towson rallied from an 11-point deficit in the first half to beat the Youngstown State women’s basketball team, 68-57, Saturday at the Coliseo Juan Aubin Cruz Abreu to conclude the Puerto Rico Clasico.

The Penguins led for more than 23 minutes and they held a 40-30 advantage a minute into the third quarter. Towson scored 16 straight points over the next six minutes to take the lead for good at 46-40 lead.

Youngstown State freshman and former West Branch All-Ohioan Sophia Gregory played a collegiate-high 19 minutes. She was 3-of-4 from the field for eight points with four rebounds, two steals and two blocks.

The Penguins drop to 4-4 and will return home to begin Horizon League play at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday against Milwaukee.

Kitchens to lead Heels

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina elevated former Cleveland Browns head coach Freddie Kitchens as its interim coach on Sunday for an upcoming bowl game after the firing of Mack Brown.

The school announced that Sunday was Brown’s last day on the job after the Tar Heels closed the regular season with a 35-30 loss to rival N.C. State the day before. That marked the final game of Brown’s second tenure in Chapel Hill, where the 73-year-old was the program’s winningest coach.

The school announced last Tuesday that Brown wouldn’t return as coach for 2025 after he reiterated his oft-stated plan to coach next season. After Saturday’s loss to the Wolfpack, Brown said he wasn’t angry about the decision but was disappointed in how it was handled.

Brown didn’t take questions from reporters at his postgame news conference.

Kitchens has worked as the Tar Heels’ run-game coordinator and tight ends coach the past two seasons. He previously worked as an analyst at South Carolina and spent 16 seasons in the NFL, including the 2019 season as the Browns’ head coach.

Dirty hit leads to a scary moment

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Trevor Lawrence walked out of EverBank Stadium with his wife by his side and a smile on his face, a positive sign for the oft-injured Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback.

Lawrence was carted off the field after taking a violent blow to the facemask from Houston linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair, a hit that prompted a sideline-clearing brawl and a secondary scuffle.

“It’s a play that really has no business being in our league,” Jaguars coach Doug Pederson said following his team’s 23-20 loss Sunday.

Back in the starting lineup after missing two games with a sprained left shoulder, Lawrence scrambled on a second-and-7 play in the second quarter. He initiated a slide before Al-Shaair raised his forearm and unleashed on the defenseless quarterback.

Lawrence clinched both fists after the hit — movements consistent with what’s referred to as the “fencing response,” which can be common after a traumatic brain injury. He was on the ground for several minutes as teammates came to his defense and mobbed Al-Shaair, whose latest perceived cheap shot could result in a suspension.

“That was a dumb hit on his part,” Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen said. “Hate to see it. The first thing I thought of was to go get him because it’s your brother, and that’s the quarterback.”

Added tight end Evan Engram: “I saw him sliding and then I saw the hit, and then, honestly, (my emotions) just took over. I just knew it was wrong. It was just a dirty play, and you stick up for your guys.”

Lawrence eventually was helped to his feet and loaded into the front seat of a cart to be taken off the field. He was not transported to a hospital for tests. He was quickly ruled out with a concussion, though.

“It’s unfortunate with the hit with Azeez,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “That’s not what we’re coaching. Want to be smart in everything we do and not hurt the team, get a penalty there. Just have to be smarter when a quarterback is going down.

“Just unfortunate play, not representative of who Azeez is. Like, he’s a smart player, really great leader for us.”

Al-Shaair was ejected for “an illegal hit on the quarterback, unnecessary, to the neck and head area,” referee Land Clark said in a pool report. Jaguars rookie cornerback Jarrian Jones also was ejected for throwing a punch in the melee.

As Al-Shaair was leaving the field, fans started screaming at him. Jaguars veteran guard Brandon Scherff joined in, prompting another altercation with Al-Shaair. Texans teammate Will Anderson grabbed Al-Shaair and was escorting him off the field when a fan threw a water bottle and hit Anderson in the helmet. The fan was later ejected.

Officials and coaches got the teams under control before play resumed. Al-Shaair was not in the locker room when it opened to reporters after the game.

“I just want to say prayers to Trevor,” Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud said. “I really hope and pray he’s OK. Prayers to his family as well. But, yeah, still rocking with Azeez. I don’t think that was his intent, and I pray that Trevor is OK and his family is right there with him.”

Mac Jones replaced Lawrence and rallied the Jaguars in the fourth quarter. Jones completed 20 of 32 passes for 235 yards, with two touchdowns. Pederson declined to speculate on Lawrence’s status moving forward, especially with the Jags now formally eliminated in the AFC South.

Lawrence, the top pick in the 2021 draft, missed a game for the first time in his professional career in 2023 because of a sprained right shoulder sustained in Week 16.