East Mills beats Essex 55-32 to win third place

MALVERN – East Mills won a rubber match over Essex Saturday night to win the Corner Conference Tournament consolation final 55-32. 

Essex actually led 13-12 after the first quarter, but East Mills’ defense took over, allowing only 9 points over the next two quarters as the Wolverines went on a 26-9 run to pull away 38-22. 

Weston Copperstone led East Mills with 11 points in the win. Noah Richter scored 10 and contributed seven rebounds and four assists, while Jordan Childers came off the bench to chip in 10 points as well. 

Gunner Glasgo hit three three-pointers for  Essex, scoring  12 points to lead all scorers.

Essex (6-9) previously beat East Mills 47-39 Dec. 11 before losing to them 50-37 Jan. 15. 

East Mills (6-8) lost their semifinal game 56-42 to Fremont-Mills. 

Fremont-Mills dominated the game early, leading 16-12 after the first quarter before going on a 23-7 run in the second to pull away 39-19 by halftime. 

Matt Glockel came off the bench to score nine points for East Mills. Richter also finished with nine. 

In their first round game of the tournament, East Mills held on for a 47-44 win over Sidney. 

The Wolverines withstood a furious Cowboy rally in the final 1:29 that cut the lead to just one with 2.6 seconds left and a desperation heave that glanced off the front of the rim as time expired to down Sidney.

In the first half, utilizing a tight zone defense to negate the Cowboys’ size inside – in particular 6-foot-7 Dylan Lucas – the Wolverines built a eight point lead early in the second quarter and led 25-20 at halftime.

To open the third quarter, East Mills got a layup from Jordan Childers and a runner from Dylan Schroeder to push their lead to 35-24 midway through the frame.

East Mills would hold onto to a double-digit lead into the fourth quarter before Sidney began to chip away. A three pointer by the Cowboys’ Chase Reed cut the margin to 43-38 with 1:21 to go. The Wolverines would have a chance to extend their lead on its next 

Sidney’s Cameron Whitehead answered with a layup and, following a Wolverine turnover, hit 1-of-2 at the line to make it 44-41 with 12.1 to go in the game.

The Cowboys then send Miguel Sanchez to the line with 10.1 seconds to go. The senior hit 1-of-2 to make it 45-41.

Sidney darted up the court on the ensuing possession and cut the lead to 45-44 on Reed’s second three pointer of the quarter.

Trailing by one, Sidney fouled East Mills guard Weston Copperstone. The junior calmly stepped up to the line and nailed both free throws to put the Wolverines back in front 47-44 with just 1.4 on the clock.

Whitehead’s 70-foot heave at the buzzer ricocheted off the front of the rim.

East Mills limited Sidney to 39 percent shooting and held a 29 to 18 rebounding edge. 

Copperstone led the Wolverines with 13 points, shooting 3-for-4 from behind the arc. Noah Richer added 10.

Lucas and Whitehouse paced Sidney with 12 points.