The Shenango High boys basketball team walked into the Laurel High gym looking for a victory.

The Spartans were able to deny the Wildcats their wish, holding on for a 66-53 Section 1-AA victory Friday night.

Laurel (1-1 section, 5-1 overall) started off hot, outscoring Shenango 20-11 in the first half and expanding its lead to 13 at the halftime break.

“It’s something we talked about, we knew they were struggling a little bit and we wanted to put them away early,” Laurel coach Ken Locke said.

“They fought and played hard, they have a lot of young kids and they battled to their credit. We never really put them away, but we did enough. It wasn’t our best, but it was good enough.”

Only five Spartans scored, yet three of them in Mason Mraz, Scott Siddall and Jacob Wilson reached double digits.
Mraz posted a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds, Siddall followed with 17 points and Wilson contributed 13 markers.

“I don’t think we played one of our better games, but it’s a rivalry game and they were ready to battle,” Locke said.
“But at the end of the day, we wanted a win and we got it.”

The Wildcats (0-3, 0-7) have struggled with a young roster that only features one returning letterman, yet Shenango is starting to put the pieces together. The effort was apparent in the fourth quarter, which saw the Wildcats outscore Laurel 19-11.

“We’re getting better everyday,” Shenango coach Bob McQuiston said. “The kids are coming to work, it’ll take us awhile to put it all together but you can’t fault the effort. Obviously we’re not satisfied with getting better, we want to get some wins, but they didn’t quit.”

“The young kids are resilient, they keep bouncing back. It’s just a matter of time before it pays off.”

Shenango’s Matt McMillen also posted a double-double, posting team-highs with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Before Friday’s game, McMillen’s former season-high point total was at 10 points, set on Tuesday in a loss to Lincoln Park.

“Matt’s been working all fall, we saw something in him early,” McQuiston said. “He’s one of those kids that is the first to get to practice and the last to leave. He’s putting in the time and it’s starting to show.”

Vinny Turco added 14 in the loss.