Brian Hagberg
WARREN, Pa. – A 24-point fourth quarter broke the game open as Erie earned a 75-62 non-region win at Warren.
Rewatch the game:
The teams were even through three quarters at 51-51. A 9-2 run midway through the fourth put the Royals on top 63-56. The Dragons cut the deficit to five, 65-60, with 2:47 to play. Layveon Gore’s layup started a game-ending 10-2 run for Erie.
Gore scored eight of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter and was a force on the boards all night as he earned Icyy Ink Player of the Game powered by the Allegheny Grille honors. Gore and Jay Smith combined to score 31 of Erie’s 40 first-half points.
Erie held a slim, 20-18 advantage after the first quarter. Parks Ordiway and Braylon Barnes combined for 15 of Warren’s 22 second-quarter points as the Dragons pulled even at 40-40 heading to halftime.
Both teams cooled a bit to start the second half as they each scored just 11 points in the third quarter.
Smith finished with 17 points and Andreas McCollum added 15 for the Royals.
Ordiway had a team-high 19 points for the Dragons. Barnes had 14, Tommy Nyquist 11, and Brady Berdine 10.
