Staff photo / Neel Madhavan Chaney’s Allex Hill, left, puts up a shot in the post while being defended by East’s Anthony Davis, center, on Tuesday night at East High School.

YOUNGSTOWN — In the final iteration of the City Series rivalry, Chaney earned permanent bragging rights moving forward.

The Cowboys won the last football matchup in the fall, and with Tuesday night’s 57-49 victory over East, completed the season sweep of their crosstown rival before the two schools consolidate to become Youngstown High School starting next school year.

“Anytime we play East, it’s motivation,” Chaney coach Marlon McGaughy said. “As you can see, they play us real hard every game. Every time we play them, I’m almost afraid to play them because they will give us everything they got.

“It’s a good thing and it’s a bad thing. It’s really kind of sad we won’t have the rivalry anymore, but it’s something that we have to do, and I think it’ll be even better (for both schools).”

Students, parents and fans for both schools filled the gym at East High School. With the stands overflowing, the game was deemed a sellout, as a long line of people at the gates were turned away due to the packed capacity.

For East coach LaVance Turnage Jr., the City Series rivalry is always bittersweet because he’s coached at both schools during his career.

“This is a great experience. To be a part of this, I’m blessed to be a part of this,” Turnage said. “I know both kids, and this is a great game and a great way to end the City Series.”

Chaney (14-3) had the early edge by the end of the first quarter. Despite shooting 6-for-20 from the floor, the Cowboys still held a 13-7 lead.

In the second quarter, the Cowboys tried to create separation, hoping their defensive pressure would lead to quick run outs and easy baskets. But Tyris Davis helped east keep things close, scoring 10 of his game-high 21 points during the period.

“Just compete — that’s all I look for in my guys,” Turnage said. “They just compete every night, and then we’ll see at the end. Today, we came up short. But other days, we come up victorious.”

The Golden Bears (8-11) trailed 24-21 at one point. But Chaney ended the first half on a 5-0 run to take a 29-21 lead into halftime.

The Cowboys were relentless, however, coming out in the second half, as they outscored East 18-7 during the third quarter.

Asuante Mickel started to heat up for the Cowboys during the period, while Austin Brown picked up where he left off in the first half. Brown led Chaney with 19 points, while Mickel finished with 13 and Allen Hill chipped in 11.

“That’s how our team is constructed,” McGaughy said. “You never know who’s going to be the leading scorer each and every night. We have four guys that average double figures, so we’re really hard to scout and you can’t key on just one person.”

After the Cowboys’ third-quarter surge, the Golden Bears trailed by 19 heading into the fourth quarter.

But even in the face of a significant deficit, East fought back to tighten things up late. With Davis leading the way, the Golden Bears dominated the final period, outscoring Chaney 21-10.

“We practice that,” Turnage said. “We practice being down 15. I tell them to cut it in half every two minutes, chop wood and then we’ll see where we are. That’s what they did tonight, and we only lost by eight.”

With the City Series sweep in their back pocket, the Cowboys turn their attention to their final three games of the regular season, which begin on Friday night against Solon at 7 p.m.

East, on the other hand, has just two games left in the regular season before the playoffs begin. The Golden Bears will host Akron North on Thursday at 7 p.m., before traveling to Massillon Jackson on Friday night.