The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Bison ride through Wickliffe
Freshman Albert impresses in nailbiter
Beachwood coach Jon Mannarino doesn’t want to play without his best player any longer than necessary.
But while Jayson Woodrich’s foot injury heals, the Bison have learned how to win without him. Mannarino has needed new contributors, too, and the scoring vacated by Woodrich’s absence has often been filled by a freshman.
At Wickliffe on Jan. 2, Collin Albert helped the Bison win their sixth consecutive game.
Albert scored 11 of his teamhigh 18 points in the third quarter and Beachwood withstood a late rally to beat the Blue Devils, 61-58.
“He showed what I was looking for as a point guard,” Mannarino said. “Take control of the game, take everything into his hands and handle what he needs to handle — that’s the offense.”
Cam Thomas added 15 points for the Bison and Josh Sizemore scored 12 off the bench.
Albert’s penetration created the majority of his scoring chances.
The freshman guard converted three and-one opportunities, and his drives into the Wickliffe defense allowed him to take over the third quarter.
The Blue Devils geared their defense toward closing off lanes for Albert and his teammates, which proved effective in the first half.
“I just tried to keep playing,” Albert said. “At certain times, I just try to not worry about the refs and keep playing, just attack and try to make plays.”
Through nine games, Albert leads the Bison in scoring at 14.8 points per game. A month into his first high school season, Albert has learned the high school game is played at a much faster pace against more physically imposing opponents.
Woodrich is expected to return Jan. 9 and will play restricted minutes in his first week. Woodrich averaged 16.3 points and eight rebounds for the Bison last year. He led the area with 64 3-pointers.
Beachwood began the season with a three-game losing streak to Solon, St. Edward and reigning Division IV state champion Lutheran East.
When Woodrich returns, he’ll join a team that’s found an identity through its recent winning streak.
“It says we’re a tough team,” Albert said. “We’re finding a way to win games.”
The Bison began the game with an 11-2 run before Wickliffe closed within 16-14 on Josh Perpar’s jumper. Wickliffe went ahead, 29-25, before Sizemore and Thomas each converted a pair of free throws to tie the game at halftime.
Mannarino was disappointed Beachwood was unable to capitalize on its impressive early performance.
“We got too content,” Mannarino said. “We got too in the mode of trying to make highlight plays instead of trying to make the right play.”
Beachwood’s fullcourt press and Albert’s scoring helped the Bison take a 43-37 lead headed into the fourth. Beachwood sent two defenders at Wickliffe’s ballhandlers after inbounds passes, then jumped passes to a man positioned near halfcourt.
Wickliffe trailed, 57-50, with just over a minute to play when the Blue Devils closed their gap to a point, 59-58, on Nicky Fenton’s late layup. Wickliffe stole the ensuing inbounds pass and drew a foul, but missed a pair of potential game-winning free throws with 8.9 seconds to play. Michael Gordon made two free throws to ice Beachwood’s win.
Brown led all scorers with 23 points, Dallas Zollars chipped in 11 and Perpar scored 10. Wickliffe dropped to 3-5, but Coach Craig Austin took positives out of the Blue Devils’ defense.
“We were sagging off so much it almost looked like a zone defense,” Austin said. “That was the intention. Coming in we really wanted to take away those driving gaps and try to make them at least go outside and shoot the ball.”