The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
VASJ tops North in boys basketball
The Villa Angela-St. Joseph boys basketball team picked up a nonconference victory over North, 87-68, on Feb. 6. Jay Kron has the story.
March is fast approaching, and that means tournament time. For nearly the last decade, March has been Viking Time.
VASJ took a step toward maturing into March-ready mode with a decisive 87-68 nonconference victory over a scrappy, never-say-die North squad Feb. 6 at Viking Village.
The Vikings, a young team that has battled to a 7-10 record against one of Ohio’s toughest schedules, never trailed against the Rangers and had five players score in double figures.
Junior Jonah Waag led the way with 23 points. Sophomore Noah Clarke added 17, junior Jaden Hameed tallied 12 and senior Sean Johnson and 6-foot-5 freshman Anthony Ivey each contributed 10 points. “We’ve been having it rough the past few weeks,” Waag said. “So we’re trying to get better as a team and focus on main things that will help us prepare for big games upcoming next week.”
VASJ shot 61% from the field (34 for 56) and held a 27-23 rebounding edge. The Vikings forced 17 North turnovers in the first half.
A 15-2 Viking run in the first quarter led to a 23-10 lead, and a 15-6 run in the second helped propel VASJ to a 47-21 halftime lead. Waag and Clarke each scored 15 first-half points.
North is searching for its first win of the season, but the Rangers have played much better in the season’s second half. In keeping with that theme, they played a lot better in the second half Feb. 6 against the Vikings, outscoring the hosts, 47-40.
In addition to cutting down their turnovers from 17 to six, the Rangers fired in 10 3-pointers after the break, four by Chris Molica and three by Jason Reik. But North was never closer than 18 points in the second half, thanks to the balanced scoring effort of the battle-toughened Vikings. Johnson, VASJ’s only senior, scored all 10 of his points in the latter two frames.
“Nothing but respect and admiration for (North coach) Rob (Koelling) — I think he does a great job,” VASJ coach Babe Kwasniak said. “How many 3s did they make? They made a lot of them. Kudos to those guys. They played their tails off.”
North had four players in double figures, led by Reik, who dropped in a game-high 24 points. Molica and Kyle Randle contributed 14 points apiece, and Mo Morgan chipped in 10. The Rangers will travel to Kenston on Feb. 7.
“It’s funny what happens when you take care of the basketball and don’t turn it over,” Koelling said of his team’s secondhalf surge. “That’s what hurt us in the first half. Once we settled down, we didn’t turn it over as much. We hurt ourselves in the first half, but that was a physical, well-executed second half.”
THE SCORE VASJ 87, NORTH 68