The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
PERKINS’ BIG PLAY WINS FOR RANGERS
Smith, Sanchez contribute to North Ridgeville’s victory
Southwestern Conference play got off to a thrilling start as North Ridgeville fended off a fourthquarter comeback from Midview, topping the Middies, 58-55 ,at Midview on Dec. 8.
The Rangers (2-1) stayed one step ahead throughout the matchup, but as expected, were tested mightily in the closing minutes. Midview tied the matchup at 55 with a Vince Birth 3-point basket with 30 seconds left. North Ridgeville’s Zach Perkins responded with a massive offensive rebound, followed up with an and-1.
Perkins sank the free throw, along with the Middies hopes with 2.6 seconds left.
“It was pretty good. I am thankful for all of my teammates though because they did a lot of the work,” Perkins said. “I just had a job to do, and I did it.”
“Zach has always had a spark of greatness,” Rangers coach Bryan
Morgan said. “He has had to come into this role because our other post player was out for the first three games. We have seen Zach play this way in scrimmages and practice. Tonight I thought he controlled the boards pretty well and to have that putback down there and to make the free throw, that’s big for his career.”
Perkins’ big night was paired with a solid contribution from senior MJ Smith, who tallied 13 points, seven rebounds and an assist. Smith’s running mate, junior Jeremy Sanchez sparked the Rangers in the early going as he notched 12 first-quarter points, finishing with 17 points, four rebounds and one steal.
Morgan didn’t mince words when talking about how special of a team he believes he has.
“This is probably one of the best team wins we have ever had. Guys excited for each other. It’s not just one guy out there making a bunch of plays,” Morgan said. “Since I have been here at North Ridgeville, I think this might be the best team that I have ever coached.”
The Middies (1-2) trailed throughout most of the evening as both teams began with a frantic pace. The Rangers took a 21-15 lead at the end of the first quarter. North Ridgeville continued to stay one step ahead, while the Middies were falling victim to being on the wrong end of multiple fouls. As a result, Middies senior guard Seamus Higley was a virtual non-factor in the matchup. Midview senior Gage Carnes emerged as a serious threat in the post, tallying multiple buckets in the second half, helping the Middies stay in the game.
Carnes finished with a team-high 18 points and eight rebounds.
“Gage did some good things for us tonight. He had a good fourth quarter, and he hit some baskets when we needed them,” Middies coach Jim Brabenec said. “We just need him to step up and be a better player for us to win some of those games, as well as the rest of our guys.”
Midview’s Jonny Manning added 13 points and three rebounds, while Vince Birth tallied nine points on a trio of 3s for the Middies.
With their home crowd getting nervous, Midview made their comeback in the fourth quarter, as they scrapped and clawed to cut into the Rangers’ lead.
Morgan expected it to be a dogfight down the stretch.
“I thought Midview was going to make plays. I didn’t think we were going to walk out of here with a 20-point victory. They have Gage Carnes and Vince Birth over there. Those guys can make plays,” Morgan said.
In the fourth, the Middies slowly cut the lead down with a couple pf baskets from Trevor Porter and a 3-pointer from Isiah Johnson. It just wasn’t enough.
“We tied the game there with about 30 seconds left, and then we just didn’t execute,” Brabenec said. “We lost the game on what got us down early. They beat us on penetration, got the ball up on the backboard. They got the offensive rebound and got the and-1. That’s kind of the story of our night. That’s what got us down early and that’s what ended up beating us in the end.”