Benedictine fends off Richmond Heights

Davin Zeigler scores 24 points to pace Benedictine in an 8774 win over Richmond Heights in a boys basketball headliner. Mike Coutee was on the scene on MLK Drive in Cleveland and has a full recap.

Benedictine showed on Dec. 7 why it can be the top team in the North Coast League’s Blue Division.

Even in an ugly win against Richmond Heights on Dec. 7, Coach Rob Stircula and his staff will take it.

From their rebounding abilities and second-chance opportunities, the Bengals got the help from Andy Barba and Davin Zeigler, who created a two-man wrecking crew to lead their team to a 87-74 win against the visiting Spartans.

“A win is a win,” Stircula said. “We really haven’t had our roster all together and it’s kind of going up and down this year. Right now, we just plug along and we will try to get after it after that.”

After a turnover and a free throw by the Bengals, Barba’s pass lead to a Zeigler layup to put them up 6-3 early on. One of the biggest leads in the game came in the second quarter when Zeigler’s jumper put the Bengals up, 32-23.

“I think it’s hard to guard both of us,” Barba said. “We’re both pretty skilled, committed and were not really worrying about numbers. We usually play well together and get everyone else involved as well.”

At the start of the second half, Richmond Heights had the lead for the first time in the game on a Jevontea Jones’ transition dunk.

The story of the game was Zeigler’s playmaking skill, which boosts the Bengals’ confidence. A no-look pass to Rory Kilbane iced things up for good.

“Richmond (Heights) was face guarding me, so I had to get off the glass and push the ball myself,” Zeigler said. “Plus I wanted to get my teammates involved also, rebound and defend.”

The Bowling Green commit finished with 24 points. Barba had 15 points, and Kilbane 10.

Benedictine finished the third quarter on a high note on B.J. Busbee’s layup. The fourth quarter was all Benedictine. Another test will come Dec. 8 as the Bengals will face Solon.

Richmond Heights was led by Gbolahan Adio’s 21 points. The Spartans face Fairport on Dec. 11.