Massillon Fights Past Tough Warren Harding Squad

*Xavier Williams and Jadyce Thigpen get ready for Friday night’s game. All photos courtesy of KJ Kohl. Videos credit: Seth Bailey.*

It was never easy, but the Massillon Tigers took home their 9th straight win on Friday night in a gritty 73-63 victory. The Tigers, now 12-1, are currently the 2 seed in the DII Northeast District, and are ranked 7th overall in the state and 2nd in DII (MaxPreps). The Raiders of Warren Harding (5-11) may not have the excellent record that they had last season, but they still played the same physical brand of ball and kept the Tigers on their toes all night. Massillon would finally pull away in the fourth quarter as they were able to draw key fouls and hit a few clutch shots.

1st Half

Jadyce Thigpen got the scoring started for the Tigers early in the first quarter as Braylon Gamble passed it ahead off a steal. Soon after, Gio Jackson Jr. ran it down the floor and slammed it home to make the score 4-0. The Raiders responded with a 6-0 run of their own, but Xavier Williams knotted the game up at 6 with a jumper. The Tigers and Raiders went back-and-forth for the remainder of the 1st quarter. Warren finished the quarter on a 6-1 run and led 14-13. The Raiders struck first in the 2nd quarter, but Jadyce Thigpen retied the game with a 3-pointer. A pair of fastbreak layups from Braylon Gamble and Terrion Wells gave Massillon a 20-16 lead. As the quarter went on, both teams put up small runs and kept the score close. Warren ended the quarter with a buzzer-beating layup and led 31-29 at the half.

2nd Half

*Jadyce Thigpen readies to shoot a free throw*

The Raiders went on a run to start the 3rd quarter, jumping out to a 37-31 lead. And-1s from both Gio Jackson Jr. and Xavier Williams got the Tigers back in the game and tied it at 39-all. Jackson and Terrion Wells forced a turnover on the defensive end and Jadyce Thigpen hit a pair of free throws on the offensive end to give Massillon the lead. Jackson spun to the basket and scored and Braylon Gamble splashed a 3 but Warren continued to keep it close, only trailing by 2 (44-46) at the end of the quarter. The Raiders took the lead early in the 4th, but Xavier Williams knotted it back up with free throws. Warren retook the lead again but Gio Jackson Jr. dunked off an inbounds pass to tie it once more. The Tigers were able to pull away with under 5:00 remaining. Jadyce Thigpen was fouled, putting Massillon in the bonus and giving them free throws to take the lead for good at 56-54. Braylon Gamble put it home, Thigpen had a nice finish and a basket, and Williams hit a dagger 3 to give Massillon a 65-58 lead. A pair of fouls on Massillon gave Warren a few free throws, but Braylon Gamble took the ball the length of the floor and laid it home to make the score 69-63. The Raiders played the foul game and missed on their end– Jadyce Thigpen took it down the floor for one more layup and the Tigers took home a 73-63 win.