TORONTO — The Toronto boys’ basketball team had to rely on its defense against Shenandoah before its offense finally came alive.

The Red Knights went nearly six minutes without a point in the first quarter before rallying in the fourth for a 58-42 victory against the Zeps in the first game of a boys’ and girls’ doubleheader Wednesday night inside the George J. Kunzler Memorial Gymnasium.

“Thank goodness for our defense,” Toronto (11-3) head coach Sean Tucker said. “Our defense kept us in the game. We knew what to expect. They are a very capable team. They are fundamentally sound. They can hit shots. We did a very good job defensively. Defensively, to hold them to 12 points in the first half, was big. Our defense did a really good job.”

A three-point play gave the Zeps a 34-32 lead early in the fourth, however, the Red Knights responded with a 16-0 run to take a 48-34 lead. Toronto went on to lead by as many as 20 points – 57-37 – in the quarter before winning the game by 16.

The boys from Jefferson County did not net their first points of the net until there was 2:22 left in the first as they missed all but one shot in the quarter, missed a pair of free throws and committed multiple turnovers in the first eight minutes of play. On the other side, the Zeps produced the final seven points of the quarter to build a 9-2 advantage going into the second.

The Red Knights responded in the second as an 11-2 run – capped off by a putback with 2:10 left in the half – gave the boys from Jefferson County their first lead of the game at 13-11. Toronto led 15-12 at halftime.

The visitors came back to retake the lead in the third. Then, the boys in white retook the lead at 21-20 with 4:07 left in the third as Tucker called a timeout to talk things over with his team.

The lead changed hands multiple times in the final four minutes of the quarter, and the Zeps ended up building a five-point lead at 31-26. The Red Knights, however, responded with the final six points of the quarter, including a buzzer beater, to take a 32-31 lead into the fourth.

“You’re happy you are able to weather the storm as long as possible,” Tucker said. “They did a good job in the third quarter. They outscored us 19-17 in the third quarter. We couldn’t get any momentum going in the third quarter. We could not score in the third. We had six field goals in the third quarter.”

After struggling from beyond the arc in the first three quarters, the victors found the range in the fourth as they drained five shots from long range as they pulled away for the victory.

“We’re a young team,” Tucker said. “We play a lot of juniors. Our young kids play hard on defense. We have two really good senior leaders.

“One of our seniors came off the bench and gave us a big spark. That was a big difference. He gave us a huge spark. He got things going for us. He came up big off the bench. We really needed that.”

Both teams are scheduled to play Friday night. Toronto is slated to play Bridgeport on the road, while Shenandoah is set to take on River at home.

Toronto girls top Wellsville

The Toronto girls defeated Wellsville, 36-30, in the nightcap.

“It was a hard-fought game,” Toronto (8-8) head coach Rusty Hodgkiss said. “Wellsville was able to force us to play their game. We are learning. We found a way, all hands on deck. Every player on the roster contributed to that win tonight. I could not be prouder of them.”

The win was a big one for the Red Knights as they entered play this week in fifth place in the OVAC Class 2A standings, while the Tigers were in fourth place.

The top four teams in each class qualify for the annual conference tournament. The cutoff date to qualify for the annual tournament is Monday.

Jayna Reeves recorded a team-high 12 points to lead the way offensively for the Red Knights, while Tatum Derrinngton delivered eight.

Bella Poppelreiter collected a team-high 17 points to lead the way for the Tigers (8-8).

The game was tied at seven at the end of the first quarter before the girls from the Gem City outscored the visitors from Columbiana County, 15-6, in the second to take a 22-13 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Tigers outscored the Red Knights, 11-6, in the third to pull within, 28-24 entering the fourth, but the Red-and-White outscored the Orange-and-Black, 8-6, in the fourth to hold on for the big victory.

The Toronto girls are scheduled to play Madonna in a varsity-only game at 6:30 p.m. tonight at home.

Wellsville is set to play Columbiana Monday on the road.

Boys

Toronto 58, Shenandoah 42

Shenandoah 9 3 19 11 – 42

Toronto 2 13 17 26 – 58

SHENANDOAH (5-8): Wentworth 3 0-2 6, Carpenter 0 2-2 2, Barnett 1 0-0 2, Smith 6 1-2 16, House 0 0-2 0, Moore 0 0-0 0, Varhola 1 2-2 4, McElfresh 4 3-5 12. TOTALS: 15 8-13 42.

TORONTO (11-3): Filby 2 0-0 4, Grimes 5 0-0 13, Joynson 0 2-2 2, Bodnar 0 0-0 0, Buchanan 8 3-7 21, Fair 4 2-3 11, Henry 1 0-0 2, Rebich 0 0-0 0, Dickinson 1 2-2 4, Heckathorn 0 1-2 1, Anderson 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 21 10-14 58.

3-POINTERS: Shenandoah 4 (smith 3, McElfresh); Toronto 6 (Grimes 3, Buchanan 2, Fair)

Girls

Toronto 36, Wellsville 30

Wellsville 7 6 11 6 – 30

Toronto 7 15 6 8 – 36

WELLSVILLE (8-8): Jackson 3 0-5 6, Poppelreiter 4 9-12 17, Edison 1 0-2 2, Tice 0 0-0 0, Bosco 0 0-0 0, Thompson 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 10 10-21 30.

TORONTO (8-8): Derrington 3 2-6 8, Sapp 2 0-0 4, Reeves 5 1-2 12, Rebich 2 0-0 6, Owings 1 0-0 2, Yost 1 0-0 2, Dickinson 1 0-2 2. TOTALS: 15 3-10 36.

3-POINTERS: Wellsville (none); Toronto 3 (Rebich 2, Reeves)