The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Avon Lake advances
When the North Ridgeville boys basketball team was knocking on Avon Lake’s door in the fourth quarter of a Division I sectional semifinal Feb. 26, the Shoremen were on the verge of letting the Rangers in.
But instead the hosts, seeded fifth in the Elyria District, opted to slam the door shut and deadbolt it, using the remaining 6:30 to pull away from the 12th seeded Rangers for a 60-42 victory.
The Shoremen (15-8) will move on to a sectional final against fourth seeded Berea-Midpark Feb. 29 at 7 p.m.
“That’s experience, that’s seniors, that’s guys who don’t panic and understand what it is we need to do,” Shoremen coach Eric Smith said of his team’s fourth quarter performance.
Senior Cristian Perry led the Shoremen with 17 points, and his corner three midway through the fourth provided a 47-42 cushion after the Rangers opened the quarter with a basket that put them within two.
After a defensive stop, fellow senior Hunter Simons found Perry cutting to the rim, where he finished with a layup to give his team a 49-42 lead.
The game’s momentum had swung Avon Lake’s way, and the veteran roster was back in a familiar groove, working the ball around to open shooters on offense while shutting off Ranger drives at the other end. In all, the Shoremen closed the game on a 16-0 run, and shot 5-for-6 in the quarter.
“I think our senior leadership really proved big,” Perry said. “I think we buckled down on the defensive end, which really jumpstarted us. We all talk in the huddle and on the bench, and we always talk about things to do. I think that really propelled our run and buckled us down in the fourth quarter.”
Nate Sidloski, Nate Murtaugh and Nick Marsh each scored nine points in the game, while sharpshooter Tanner Russell was limited to eight, guarded closely all evening by Ranger defenders who oftentimes would show a double-team. Sidloski and Marsh each finished with team-highs in rebounds (five) and assists (three).
“I think our defense kind of led to some of our offense,” Perry said. “We started to get it up the floor and get the ball in and out and get some cuts, and I think that led to some easy shots. … That gave us some energy and that really helped us.”
The Shoremen led, 1710, after the first quarter and led by as many as nine points in the second, but the pesky, young Rangers (4-19), refused to go away. They outscored the Shoremen 10-5 in the last four minutes, and Nate Theus’ 3-pointer with 30 seconds left pulled them to within four, 29-25, by halftime.
Bryce Neumann’s three with just under six minutes to go in the third cut
AVON LAKE 60, NORTH RIDGEVILLE 42
the deficit to one point, 3130, but the Rangers would come no closer. The Shoremen quickly went ahead by six on back-to-back scores by Murtaugh and Russell, and the Rangers answered by pulling to within two again. The margin was 41-38 entering the fourth, and the Rangers were simply unable to combine the stop and the bucket necessary to tie or take a lead.
“Our guys just couldn’t put the ball in the hole the last five minutes,” Rangers coach Bryan Morgan said. “I thought we were getting there, but (Avon Lake’s) got bigger guys with more experience. We just weren’t able to do it for four straight quarter.”
“We showed resiliency in the way we stayed in the game, especially after going down early, so they did a great job of fighting,” he added.
Theus led the Rangers with 14 points, while Neumann scored nine. Mason Grow added four points and a team-high seven rebounds off the bench. The team’s frustration boiled over in the final seconds, when two technical fouls were issued after a shoving match broke out near mid-court. Perry took six straight free throws, making four.