Strong second half boosts RH into district final

NORTON » Richmond Heights’ 2018 tournament ended, the Spartans felt, prematurely.

Richmond Heights failed to advance to the district round last year, as the Spartans fell to Warren JFK in a Grand Valley District sectional final. Focus and discipline were necessary for Richmond Heights to achieve its goals for the 2019 postseason.

March 4, the Spartans weathered Rittman’s best effort and earned a 70-54 victory over the Indians in a Division IV Norton District semifinal.

Curtis Houston, Gbolahan Adio and Anthony Maxie helped Richmond Heights turn a four-point halftime lead into a double-digit advantage by the end of the quarter.

The Spartans remained confident in their approach, stuck to their game plan and were eventually too much for Rittman, the defending Norton District champion, to handle.

“We seen and we felt how it was to lose so early,” Houston said, “when we know we shouldn’t have lost that early. So, we want to fix that.”

Maxie led the Spartans with 17 points and energized his teammates with a handful of dunks and alley-oop slams. Houston scored 16 points and his steady play helped Richmond Heights cruise in the second half. Adio knocked down three 3-pointers and finished with 15 points.

The Spartans advance to the Norton District final March 8 against the winner between Elyria Open Door and Columbia.

Rittman battled to stay within two points of Richmond Heights, 16-14, after a quarter. An alleyoop to Maxie followed by Houston’s free throw late in the second quarter put the Spartans up four, 3026, at half.

Richmond Heights opened a 12-point lead early in the second half after 3-point makes by Jamar Talbert, Houston and Adio. The Indians rallied within seven before Maxie tip-slammed back a missed layup, BJ Carter stole the ensuing inbound pass and kicked to Houston for a 3 in the corner. Houston found Carter for a transition layup to give the Spartans a 55-41 lead headed to the fourth quarter.

Richmond Heights outscored Rittman, 25-15, in the third quarter.

Houston only scored six points in the period but controlled the game with his passing, defense and sense of tempo — little things coach Quentin Rogers sees invigorate Houston’s teammates.

“He’s grown and matured so much over the last year,” Rogers said. “He’s taking that leadership role seriously and his teammates respect him. With his energy and his effort, that makes them respect him a little bit more.”

Richmond Heights’ lead peaked at 20, 6646, in the fourth quarter when Houston connected with Maxie for his fifth dunk. After Maxie was issued a technical on an alley-oop two possessions early, the Spartans found him twice more on lobs for good measure.

“Yeah, I wanted to dunk again,” Maxie said. “I always want to dunk.”

Rogers pulled his starters with two minutes to play. After Maxie’s effort sparked Richmond Heights’ defense, his teammates wanted to be sure they rewarded their big man’s energy.

“That gets us going because we like athletic plays,” Houston said. “We like seeing blocks, dunks, all that, it gets us hyped up so that’s what we try to get out and do.”

Rittman coach Tom Staley credited his players’ work during the season to return to the district level. The Indians graduated four key players from last year’s team that advanced to the regional round, and were beginning to play their best in the postseason.

Connor Stuart led all scorers with 20 points, Kyle Scheibe scored 14 and Evan Ringer added 12. As Richmond Heights’ 3-point shooting keyed its second-half surge, Rittman was unable to sustain the energy necessary to rally.

“That real early third quarter run is where they really got us,” Staley said. “We tried to bounce back but every time we bounced back, scored four quick points, they matched that with an eight-point run.”