The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Buckets give up 40 in fourth, lose to Chicago
For three quarters, Burning River held the lead over the visiting Chicago Knights at Mentor High School on Dec. 18, fending off charge after charge.
In the fourth quarter, the Buckets finally gave way, giving up 40 points in that last frame to fall, 105-101.
Chicago took its first lead, 92-90, with 3:48 to play on Dayvion Johnson’s sixth 3 of the second half. The Knights took their biggest lead in the final minutes, 101-95, after a pair of free throws by Christian Mathis.
Burning River’s Martell Medley cut the deficit to four, and then a steal by Justin Fritts and dish to Dylan Contento led to a 3-pointer which became a 4-point basket because the “3D” bonus scoring light was on.
Mathis scored to put the Knights back in front, 103101, then an off-balance 3-point attempt by Anthony Coleman was off the mark for Burning River.
Mathis grabbed the rebound and was fouled with 2 seconds left, and sank both free throws for the final margin.
Burning River, ranked No. 20 in the North Central Region of the ABA, fell to 5-2 with the loss. Chicago came in ranked No. 24. The Knights played with seven players, while only eight saw the floor for the Buckets.
“I thought they really just outplayed us at the end,” said Medley, a Euclid grad. “We started getting away from our play that had got us those wins. We just have to stay focused and finish the game off the way we
“We started getting away from our play that had got us those wins. We just have to stay focused and finish the game off the way we usually do.” — Burning River’s Martell Medley
usually do.”
Medley’s 24 points off the bench led five players in double figures for the Buckets. His drives to the hoop and clutch 3s helped Burning River stay ahead for most of the night.
“I’ve had to adjust to get used to it, because I haven’t in a long time,” Medley said in regard to coming off the bench. “I just try to bring a lot of energy, pick up our players, and give that spark off the bench to get everyone else going.”
Burning River gave up the first bucket of the game, but Cole Krizancic answered with a 3, and the Buckets led from that point until Chicago tied it, 8383, with 8:08 to play in the fourth quarter.
Burning River led, 2316, after one quarter, and sharpshooting combined with the spark off the bench provided by Medley kept the Buckets comfortably in the lead in the second quarter, until they took a 47-36 lead into the half.
The Knights turned up the tempo and physicality to force turnovers, and offensive rebounding was a big factor as they chipped away at the lead throughout the third quarter.
A 14-5 Knights run capped by a Mathis 3 brought them all the way within 57-54 in the third. But Contento responded with a triple, and a 2 and 3 by Fritts extended the lead to 65-56.
A 9-1 run capped by a Medley 3 gave Burning River a 80-71 lead at the start of the fourth. But the Knights came back with a 18-3 run to tie the game, and after a 7-0 Burning River run that included a 4-point Coleman score with the 3D light on, Chicago made its final push to take the lead and seemed to wear down the Buckets in the process.
“I think their offensive rebounds were our Achilles heel,” Burning River coach Patrick Koenig said. “We did a good job boxing out, but they kind of wore us down with that.
“The guys battled, but they’re a really good team, so you have to give them credit. It’s not just us making mistakes. They made shots, and they did a good job of playing to their strengths.”
Coleman and Fritts each scored 19 points, Michael Ryan added 16, and Contento chipped in 13 for Burning River, backing Medley’s big night. The Buckets will go on a near three-week hiatus, as they will not play again until hosting Beaver County on Jan. 8. at Mentor.
“We definitely shot the ball well, that’s one of our strengths,” Koenig said. “We try to get paint touches during every possession, and we kind of went away from that. We relied too much on the ball screen in our initial offense.
“I know it’s tough right now, it’s our first home loss. It’s a long season. You want to learn from your mistakes in a win, but you can learn from mistakes in a loss, too.”