The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Sanchez, Rangers stave off Maloy, Eagles
North Ridgeville’s Jeremy Sanchez and Avon’s Ryan Maloy had an entertaining individual battle, and the Rangers reigned in a tight Southwestern Conference clash, Robert Fenbers writes.
Avon, North Ridgeville and Midview all entered their matchups Jan. 11 tied in a logjam for third place in the rugged Southwestern Conference.
By the end of the night, it was the Rangers who were all smiles as they walked off Avon’s home gym with a gutsy 62-59 SWC victory thanks in part to a standout performance from Jeremy Sanchez.
The senior battled toothand-nail with Avon senior Ryan Maloy through three quarters of play. By the end of the third, both had 16 points as they looked toward a showdown headed into the final frame.
Maloy notched a pair of free throws a few minutes into the fourth. But that’s when Sanchez, along with Vrba, delivered a haymaker with back-to-back 3s, giving the Rangers a 59-54 lead with three minutes left. It was Vrba’s fourth 3 of the game.
A pair of Maloy free throws and a Cole Warren 3 cut the deficit to one for the Eagles, but Sanchez sealed the deal as teammate Cole Payne found him under the basket to put North Ridgeville up, 62-59, with just 12 seconds left.
Maloy had a chance with some last-second heroics on a stepback 3, but missed off the backboard as the Rangers’ bench erupted into celebration.
Notching a hard-earned road victory against his longtime friend made the NORTH RIDGEVILLE 62, AVON 59
night one of the best of Sanchez’s career in his eyes.
“Oh yeah, this is definitely one of the most fun games I have ever played in my life,” Sanchez said. “Me and Ryan used to play in A AU together back a few years ago, and it was fun. Every time we match up, it’s a good game.”
Sanchez finished with 23 points, four rebounds and three assists, and Maloy racked up 22 points, six assists and four rebounds in the loss.
Both teams looked in rhythm throughout much of the night, as Avon knocked in seven 3s, including a pair from Maloy, Jake Parker and Dean Emerine. North Ridgeville also had the hot hand, knocking in nine 3s, including four from Vrba and three from Sanchez.
Vrba finished with 12 points, and Zach Perkins also contributed 10 for the Rangers.
Emerine tallied 12 points, three rebounds and two assists, and Parker and Ronier Barrett-Reed each had nine points for the Eagles (7-3, 4-3 SWC)
Avon led, 18-14, after one quarter of play, but a stingy defense from North Ridgeville allowed only 24 points in the next two quarters, including outscoring Avon, 18-10, in the third. Thriving on defense, the Rangers (6-3, 5-2 SWC) also took care of the ball admirably as they did not commit a turnover in the second and third quarters.
That stellar play is all part of a coming together process North Ridgeville coach Bryan Morgan is starting to see come into play now that his entire team is healthy and locked into a heated conference race.
“Yeah, we are executing. If you have been following us for the last four games, guys are making plays that we weren’t making in the first half of the season,” Morgan said. “It was just really nice for us to be able to come in here and get a win against a pretty good Avon team.”
Seeing both teams shoot the ball near 50 percent on the night, Avon coach Kevin Sapara chalked up the loss to missed opportunities in a hotly contested matchup.
“It was the little things,” Sapara said. “We didn’t communicate very well on defense and gave up some open looks to some open shooters. We didn’t execute at the end of the game, or get the shots that we were looking for. So just little things, and this is a team that, well they are very good, and we feel like we are a good team, too. It’s going to be the little things that dictate the outcome.”
With the win, North Ridgeville moves into a threeway tie for second place with Olmsted Falls and Midview, The Middies now own the tiebreaker after their 50-48 victory at Olmsted Falls on Jan. 11. Lakewood remains in first place.