Jim Walker
jim.walker@irontontribune.com

It’s semester finals week for the St. Joseph Flyers, and the Western Indians put them to the test.
The Flyers found the test hard but still came out with a passing grade as they beat the Indians 61-52 in a Southern Ohio Conference game on Tuesday.
“It was an ugly win, but their kids played really hard so give them credit,” said Flyers’ coach Chris Barnes. “We found a way to win when it was gut check time.”
Zach Roach scored a game-high 21 points and Ryan Payne was 8-of-11 at the foul line and scored 16 points while Jimmy Mahlmeister got 12 points to help the Flyers win (5-0, 3-0).
Mav Ferneau had 12 points and Coleman Gibson 10 for Western.
Roach and Mahlmeister each hit a trey and scored 7 points in the first quarter while Payne added a triple and foul shot to give the Flyers an 18-9 lead.
The Flyers managed just 7 points in the second quarter — Roach had 5 — as they found themselves clinging to a 25-23 lead at the half.
Payne hit a 3-pointer, went 3-for-3 at the line and scored 8 points while Roach had another trifecta and scored 7 points in the third quarter as the Flyers led 42-40.
Ferneau had 8 points including a 3-pointer and 3-of-4 at the line.
In the fourth quarter, the Flyers were clutch at the foul line as they converted 13-of-22 attempts with Payne making 4-of-5.
Matt Sheridan was 2-for-4 at the line but hit a crucial 3-pointer and Mahlmeister also made a trey and was 2-for-4 at the line as St. Joseph outscored Western 19-12.
“Zach and Ryan had good games and Matt Sheridan hit a huge 3. We made a nice run in the third quarter but I had three starters on the bench in foul trouble and they made a nice run. Our defensive stops late won the game,” said Barnes.
The Flyers visit Portsmouth Notre Dame on Friday.
Western 9 14 17 12 = 52
St. Joseph 18 7 17 19 = 61
WESTERN (NA): Coleman Gibson 1 2 2-2 10, Kotten Miller 1 0 1-3 3, Mav Ferneau 2 2 3-4 13, Colton Montgomery 1 0 4-6 6, Sheldon Richardson 1 0 0-0 2, Austin Beckett 2 0 0-0 4, Noah Whitt 2 1 1-2 8, Broc Jordan 3 0 0-2 6. Totals: 13 5 11-19 52. Fouls: 24. Fouled out; None.
ST. JOSEPH (5-0, 3-0): Jackson Rowe 0 0 0-0 0, Matt Sheridan 0 1 2-4 5, Zach Roach 6 2 3-6 21, Ryan Payne 1 2 8-11 16, J.C. Damron 2 0 3-4 7, Jared Johnson 0 0 0-0 0, Mike Mahlmeister 0 0 0-0 0, Jimmy Mahlmeister 2 2 2-4 12, Max Weber 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 11 7 18-29 61. Fouls: 17. Fouled out; J. Mahlmeister.