by Ryan Mosher
The Mountaineers had a tough opponent in their second CHVL game of the year, as they hosted the Loudonville Eagles. Loudonville had lost three straight games, all of which were just by a few points. It was clear from the beginning that Loudonville was on top of their game as they hit their shots and out rebounded the Mountaineers from the start. The first quarter was ugly for Berlin as they were outscored 13-4.
The second quarter was not much better as Loudonville took advantage of bad plays by Berlin, as well as mental mistakes. Berlin was charged with an intentional foul midway through the quarter, as well as fouling a Loudonville player on a three-point attempt at the buzzer. Berlin fell behind 31-13 at the half.
The third quarter was the Mountaineers’ lone bright spot, as they outscored Loudonville 21-13.
Chris Zema, who could not seem to hit a shot in the first half, scored eight points to help Berlin. The Mountaineers now trailed just 44-34. In the final quarter Berlin continued to fight back but could not get any closer than an eight point deficit after Zema hit a three-pointer to bring the score to 45-37. One big difference in the game was that Loudonville found their way to the charity stripe 32 times, connecting on 21 of those, while the Mountaineers took just 10 free throws. Despite struggling on Friday with foul shots, Berlin hit 7 of those 10 on Monday. Zema led Berlin with 20 points, but four players hit double figures for the Eagles. Berlin is now 1-1 in the CHVL and 1-2 overall.