Tigers maul Thunder

By Kenny Varner Jr.
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Updated: December 5, 2023

By Joshua Yoder
BELLEVILLE – East Juniata took care of business and defeated the Belleville Mennonite Thunder 63-35 during a non-league boys basketball game Monday night.
The pacing of the game was fast and furious as both teams were running up and down the court trying to gain the advantage. And for a while, it was pretty even for most of the first quarter. But the Tigers were able to squeeze out a pair of buckets late to give them a 16-11 lead after one.
But from then onward, it was all East Juniata as the defense put the clamps on the Belleville Mennonite offense and kept the Thunder in check for the majority of the period. The Thunder were held to just five points for the period.
Offensively, East Juniata showcased incredibly ball movement as the players were finding the open shot and knocking those shots down whether it be inside and outside.
In fact, the Tigers had at least five different players to score a basket through the first two quarters of the game. Belleville Mennonite was outscored 19-5 and took a 35-16 lead at the half.
The ball movement continued during the third quarter as the Tigers were completely in sync with one another looking for the best shot possible. East Juniata scored a total of 20 points in the frame which was more than the Thunder for the entire second half combined which was 19.
They say sharing is caring and East Juniata proved that as the Tigers had four different players to score in double digits.
The leading scorer Wrett Smith who scored a total of 18 points for East Juniata and was joined by Clark Ritzman who had 14, Sam Kopacki had 12 and Nathan Carolus added another 10 points.
For Belleville Mennonite, leading the charge was Quinn Renno and Clay Ammon who each scored 12 points for the evening.
Belleville Mennonite starts off its season at (0-1) and will look to get its first win of the year as the Thunder welcome the Greenwood Wildcats today at 7:30 p.m.
East Juniata is now at (1-1) and will look to keep the winning ways going as the Tigers will travel to go up against Forbes Road on Friday.

East Juniata 63, Belleville Mennonite 35
EAST JUNIATA
Wrett Smith 7 0-0 18, Jaiden May 2 0-0 4, Sam Kopacki 5 1-2 12, Nathan Carolus 5 0-0 10, Clark Ritzman 6 0-2 14, Simon Svicky 2 0-0 5. Totals 27 1-4 63.
BELLEVILLE MENNONITE
Grant Yoder 1 0-0 2, Bryson Peachey 1 1-2 3, Clay Ammon 3 3-5 12, Evan Crosson 3 0-2 6, Quinn Renno 4 3-4 12. Totals: 12 7-13 35.