The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Chardon pulls away with big second half
Toth, Sulka, Bruce play important roles for Hilltoppers in victory
Behind Brady Toth’s 30-point outing, Chardon pulled away from West Geauga for a 71-51 nonconference victory.
The win improved Chardon’s record to 3-4, while West Geauga fell in its season opener.
After a close first half, Chardon pulled away thanks to its experience they have attained through the season. Five of their six games this season have been decided by 10 points or fewer, so they are experienced in big-time moments.
A halftime lead of 37-29 would make one think this was going to be another close game. But that’s when Toth took over. After scoring nine in the first half, he scored 23 of his 30 in the last two frames.
“Having a guy like Brady that we can go to when we need a bucket makes it so much easier,” said teammate Nathanael Sulka when asked about Toth’s big night. “He’ll take a 3, he’ll go to the basket, he’s able to do everything that we need to be in these games.”
While Toth dominated the second half, it was the play of Sulka and Josh Bruce that kept the game close and allowed for the Hilltoppers to be in position for him to go on a run. Bruce had 15 points, while Sulka had 14 and a handful of assists and rebounds. Whenever there was a miss by either team, Sulka was around the rim fighting to come home with the rebound.
“Physically, Sulka is a tough match-up,” said Chardon coach Chad Murawski. “West Geauga out-worked us in the first half. So we made some adjustments to work harder at halftime and we were able to get back to our style of basketball in the second half where we can get the ball inside a lot more.”
While Chardon made the proper adjustments to pull away, West Geauga had some bright spots to look at in their first game of the season.
“We competed well considering that we only had one practice this month,” said Wolverines coach Dan Jones. “We’re trying to get our legs under us still, but we went out there and competed hard against a good team. We need to find our rhythm on offense, but that will come as we get more games and practices under our belts.”
Leading the way for the Wolverines was Trevor
Wiece with 18 points, and teammate Ethan Pollak contributed 10 of his own. Chardon will look to take the momentum form this win when they open up Western Conference Reserve action as they take on Kenston on Jan. 22 while West Geauga will open up Chagrin Valley Conference play when it travels to take on Orange on the same date.