YOUNGSTOWN — Heartland Christian’s season has reached a speed bump.

Youngstown East rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to send Heartland to its fourth straight loss, 61-56, Friday.

Heartland — the 56 matched a season low — drops to 10-4 overall. The Lions are averaging 77.9 points in their 10 wins and 54.5 points in their four losses.

The Lions had only two points in the opening 7:43 of the fourth quarter as the Golden Bears rallied.

East snapped a three-game losing streak to improve to 8-6.

Six-foot-2 senior Tyris Davis had a game-high 25 points for East along with seven rebounds and three steals. Six-four sophomore Jeremiah Swain added 17 points and nine rebounds.

Brody Conaway and Collin Kalaher both scored 14 points for the Lions. Conaway also had six rebounds and three assists and Kalaher four rebounds and four steals. Isaiah Matthews added 13 points.

East took its first lead of the fourth quarter at 54-53 on a three-point play with 3:45 to play.

The Bears led 57-53 in the final minute and 6-4 junior Anthony Davis had a layup to make it 59-53.

Kalaher hit a three-pointer at the 17-second mark as the Lions closed within 59-56.

Davis missed a pair of three throws with 13 seconds left, but the Bears got the ball back and Davis converted two free throws with eight seconds left for a 61-56 lead.

Heartland will play at Valley Christian on Tuesday, while East travels to Howland on Jan. 23.

Newton Falls 81,

Crestview 50

COLUMBIANA — Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Gray Tier leader Newton Falls bounced back from a slow start to beat Crestview, 81-50, Friday.

The Tigers won their sixth in a row to improve to 9-4 overall and 6-1 in the MVAC, tied with Ravenna Southeast for first place.

The Rebels lost their third in a row to drop to 5-9 and 2-5 in league play.

Crestview took a 9-6 lead with 5:16 left in the first quarter, but was outscored 75-41 the rest of the way.

Newton Falls took a 21-11 lead with 2:02 to play in the first quarter and never looked back.

The Tigers led 43-32 at halftime and 64-41 after three quarters.

Both teams return to league play Tuesday as Crestview hosts Champion and Newton Falls visits Garrettsville Garfield.

NF: 25-18-21-17–81

CR: 15-17- 9- 9–50

West Branch 55,

Minerva 51

BELOIT –Jeremiah Thomas totaled 28 points and eight assists in leading West Branch past Minerva, 55-51, in overtime Friday.

The Warriors won their fourth in a row to improve to 7-5 overall and 6-0 in the Eastern Buckeye Conference, one game ahead of Alliance and two in front of Carrollton for the league lead.

Minerva drops to 6-7 and 2-4 in the EBC.

The Lions trailed 36-31 through three quarters and rallied to tie the game at 42-42 at the end of regulation. West Branch held a 13-9 scoring edge in overtime.

Gavin Gregory added 10 points and five rebounds to the winning effort. Landon Coffee had a team-high nine rebounds and Grady Hirst five rebounds. Thomas added four rebounds and three steals.

For the Lions, Rowen Hoffee scored a team-high 16 points. Braydon Wood added 10 points and Skylar Lab and Isaak Morckel added nine apiece.

The junior varsity game also went into overtime with Minerva winning 43-41. Joey Troyer scored 14 points for West Branch.

Minerva hosts Smithville on Saturday, while West Branch travels to Marlington on Friday.

M: 4-14-13-11- 9–51

WB: 9-10-17- 6-13–55

MINERVA SCORING: Owen Shick 1-0-2, Rowen Hoffee 4-6-16, Gabe Weldon 1-1-3, Tyson Fetty 1-0-2, Skylar Lab 3-2-9, Braydon Wood 4-0-10, Isaak Morckel 3-2-9. TEAM TOTALS: 17, 11-15: 51.

WEST BRANCH SCORING: Jeremiah Thomas 8-10-28, Gavin Gregory 4-2-10, Grady Hirst 1-3-5, Chase Gee 0-0-0, Kasen Weaver 2-0-6, Brock Woost 1-2-4, Landon Coffee 1-0-2. TEAM TOTALS: 17, 17-24: 55.

Three-point goals: Minerva 6 (Hoffee 2, Wood 2, Lab, Morckel), West Branch 4 (Thomas 2, Weaver 2).