CLEVELAND — Bridgeport built a huge lead Saturday afternoon inside Rocket Mortgage Arena, but then had to hold off a furious rally by River for a 51-45 boys’ high school basketball victory.

The contest was a preliminary game to the Philadelphia 76ers-Cleveland Cavaliers NBA contest.

The Bulldogs led 17-12 after one quarter before building a 29-19 halftime margin. An 18-7 third quarter scoring advantage bumped the count to 47-26, but the Pilots outscored them 19-4 in the fourth to make a game of it.

Bridgeport sophomore Jaleel Vincent scored 22 points to lead all scorers, while classmate Coen Brinker added 17.

Senior Peyton Blue had 14 for River, two more than classmate Lucas Dennis. Derek Smith finished with 11.

Monroe Central 65, Wheelersburg 46

Tucker Howell fired in 29 points and Chance Allen contributed 21 as the Seminoles rolled past the Pirates.

Howell connected on 13 field goals, including a pair of treys – while Allen had 10 buckets.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Waterford 46, Monroe Central 24

ATHENS — The Seminoles fell to the Wildcats inside the Convocation Center on the campus of Ohio University as Mayzie Emery tallied 13 points.

Jacey English had eight rebounds and five steals.

Harrison Central 67, Brooke 31

WELLSBURG — Maddie Sedgmer scored 29 points and pulled down eight rebounds as the Huskies rolled past the Bruins. Mikayla Pelegreen charted a double-double for the winners with 12 points and 11 boards. She also charted eight steals. Kennedy Dunlap finished with seven points and 11 rebounds.

WRESTLING

Dublin Coffman Wins Shamrock Duals

BARNESVILLE — The Irish went 5-0 during the six-team event.

For Barnesville, Ayden King (165) recorded four pins — three in under a minute — and a forfeit, while Hines Ford (175) won twice by pin and twice by decision. He also received a forfeit.

The Shamrocks went 2-3, defeating Lakewood (76-3) and Hurricane (48-36).

Smith, Saccoccia Win Titles

NORTH CANTON, Ohio — The Steubenville duo of Cooper Smith (144) and Brody Saccoccia (157) stood atop the awards podium at the North Canton Invitational. Smith won his finals match by decision, while Saccoccia, a defending Ohio Division II state champ, won by technical fall.

Big Red took seventh as a team.

Maroon Knights Take Third

McARTHUR, Ohio — Wheeling Central placed third as a team during the Vinton County Invitational with 152 points.

The Maroon Knights had two champions — Wyatt Brady (190) and Isaac Martin (215) — and three runner ups in Ty’lique Marshall (106), Phillip Zapp (150) and Dominic Paesani (285).

John Marshall Finishes Second

COSHOCTON, Ohio — The Monarchs piled up 176.5 points and had two champions at the Coshocton Classic.

Carter Adkins (132) and Maverick Lemasters (175) both took top honors in their weight classes, while Nathan Hughes (113), Waylon Wyckoff (150) and Brooks Harrison (165) all finished second.

Adkins and Lemasters also collected their 100th career wins.

Bridgeport’s Robert Weekley (120) won his weight class, while teammate Ax’zavior Santana (132) was second.

Martins Ferry had runner ups in Jase Mahoney (120) and RJ Welshans (157), as did Toronto in Heath Thomas (285).