Chagrin roars into district

Playing their final game on their home floor for this season, Chagrin Falls couldn’t have asked for a better performance than what it put forth in a Division III sectional final on Feb. 24.

Strong starts to each half, dominant defense and rebounding, and effectiveness in transition all added up to a 65-29 thrashing of visiting Wickliffe.

The Tigers jumped out to a 16-2 lead after one quarter, and after the Blue Devils fought back and played them evenly in the second, broke the game open with a 27-9 third quarter to remove all doubt.

Chagrin Falls (13-10) advances to play a district semifinal on Feb. 28 against Youngstown Cardinal Mooney at Salem High School.

Fourteen players saw the floor and 10 scored for the Tigers, who spread the wealth and balanced the scoring.

Max Crandall and Spencer Kaas each finished with a game-high 11 points, while Ryan Curtiss and James Kosmides were right behind with 10 points each.

“It was a good win, we needed it,” said Crandall, a senior. “We’ve been struggling a little bit. Tonight, we found a rhythm, and I’m really happy with the way we played.”

Jimmy Fallon’s house band The Roots would be thrilled to have such rhythm. Chagrin Falls held Wickliffe to 1 of 11 shooting in the first quarter, and its stout defensive effort fueled transition buckets and an early double-digit advantage.

Wickliffe (8-13) found a little more success offensively in the second frame, as Shawn Derganc and Walter Cable knocked down 3s, and Noah Telisman converted a jumper and a drive.

But the Blue Devils couldn’t slow down the Tigers. Six players scored for Chagrin Falls in the second quarter, and Kaas and Ozzy DiFranco each hit 3s as the Tigers took a 31-18 lead into halftime.

A triple by Kaas kicked off a 12-2 Chagrin Falls run to start the third quarter, and the Tigers compounded their control of the glass throughout the second half.

Good ball movement in transition and in the halfcourt, along with continued balanced scoring, allowed the Tigers to put the game out of reach before the fourth quarter.

Chagrin Falls shot 46% (26 of 57) and held a 4324 rebounding advantage, most of that accrued in the second half. The 6-foot-5 Kosmides, a senior, pulled down 12 boards for a double-double, and blocked three shots.

“We talked about having a lot of energy early, and we certainly did that in the first quarter,” Chagrin Falls coach Dave Bargar said. “When we were sitting at halftime up by 13, we told the guys that we have to have that same intensity in the third quarter.

“We scored the first five, which gave us pretty significant breathing room, and we scored 27 in that