CHESAPEAKE – The boys kept rolling.

Sunday, June 10, 2001

CHESAPEAKE – The boys kept rolling. The girls finally stubbed their toe.

The Ohio All-Stars, behind Eric Smith and Danny Horace, improved to 6-1 in their all-star series against West Virginia with a 121-105 win Friday night.

The Ohio girls lost for the first time in the series and also lead West Virginia 6-1. The West Virginia ladies used a big second half to win 95-74.

Glenville’s Eric Smith pumped in 31 and Horace, the Cincinnati Western Hills star headed for Miami, Ohio, scored 27 points to lead five players in double figures.

Smith, who has yet to sign, used a variety of dunks and flashy plays to excite the crowd and earn Most Valuable Player honors for the Ohio stars.

Chesapeake’s Anthony Delimpo, who has signed with Mount Vernon, added 10 points, Willard’s Derek Fey scored 19, and Ontario’s Benji Hall netted 13 in the winning effort.

"For these guys to have been off for such a long time, the skill level was simply amazing out there," Ohio boys coach Jack Greathouse of Lancaster said.

"We ran so much out there I don’t know if we’ll have legs for the game tomorrow at Riverside, but I guess we’ll see."

The series concluded Saturday night at Riverside High School in Charleston, W.Va.

Ohio trailed 50-49 at the half, but with Smith scoring 25 of his points the second half the Ohio stars blitzed West Virginia to win going away.

George Washington’s Patrick O’Malley, the West Virginia state player of the year who signed with Richmond, led his team with 22 points. Riverside’s Nat Moles, a Rio Grande signee, was next with 19 points, Phillip Crum scored 14, and Chris Carroll and Jeff Geisinger got 11 each.

Spring Valley’s Kris Wilson, going to Bowling Green, also added 11.

West Virginia broke its winless streak in the first game as Ashley Reed and Missy Spangler combined for 37 points.

Reed, headed for East Tennessee State, was the West Virginia’s MVP as she scored 19 points including five 3-pointers. Spangler, who will play at Robert Morris, was right behind with 18 points with 16 coming in the second half when West Virginia outscored Ohio 54-39 to pull away to the big win.

"This was a big win for the West Virginia team. For these girls to be able to run and shoot the ball the way they did after a long layoff was very impressive," West Virginia girls coach Dave Reed said.

Leslie Kimble of Garaway was the Ohio Most Valuable Player as she scored 15 points. Ironton’s Jessica Ensor scored 16 points for Ohio while Admiral King’s Anetra Williams, headed for Cleveland State, got a team-high 19 points.

Krystal Tharp of Chillicothe Zane Trace, who averaged 34.7 points a game in the regular season, did not play for the Ohio stars due to an illness.

Ohio vs. West Virginia

All-Star Basketball Series

Girls Game

West Virginia 41 54 – 95

Ohio 35 39 – 74

WEST VIRGINIA: Ashley Reed 19, Christin Black 10, Whitney Parsons 2, Grace Cyphert 12, Katie Kilcolin 2, Lindsey Harrison 9, Missy Spangler 18, Ashleigh Huffman 9, Jessica Williams 7.

OHIO: Jessica Ensor 16, Milissa Burke 2, Leslie Kimble 15, Anetra Williams 19, Allison Bennett 12, Sarah Smith 2, Jennifer Holgate 2, Elizabeth Burrows 7.

Boys Game

West Virginia 50 55 – 105

Ohio 49 72 – 121

WEST VIRGINIA: Chris Carroll 11, Phillip Crum 14, Jeff Geisinger 11, Chuck Mahon 4, Nat Moles 19, Patrick O’Malley 22, Vince Veltri 10, Kris Wilson 11.

OHIO: Anthony Delimpo 10, Benji Hall 13, Derek Fey 19, Danny Horace 27, Damon Francis 9, Malcom Andrews 2, Bryan Hipsher 4, Tony Basalla 6, Eric Smith 31.