The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Spartans bound for elite 8
CANTON » Quentin Rogers wrote one word on the whiteboard in the locker room during halftime at the Canton Fieldhouse on March 10: Regrets.
Richmond Heights nursed a five-point lead midway through its Division IV regional semifinal against Warren JFK. The Spartans’ narrow edge was a function of their sloppy play in the first half.
So Rogers challenged them before the third quarter started. Leave everything on the floor, or return to the locker room and regret a season-ending loss.
Richmond Heights switched to a trapping 1-2-2 zone in the second half, started the third quarter with a 12-0 run and pulled ahead to defeat Warren JFK, 60-47.
Josiah Harris scored a game-high 24 points, and Jamarr Talbert Jr. added 17.
“I felt like it was us,” Harris said. “We came out a little slow. We didn’t come out with that same energy that we came out with before. We just needed to turn it up, and we did that the second half. Those first two quarters, not a good testament to how we played this whole season.”
The Spartans improved to 21-4. They will face Lucas in the Canton Regional final March 13.
Gabe Green scored 19 points to pace the Eagles. Cam Hollobaugh added 14 as Warren JFK concluded the season 12-14 after winning the Grand Valley District.
Green hit a 3-pointer to put the Eagles ahead, 7-4, in the first quarter. Harris answered with a triple, then Talbert knocked down another on the next possession to give the Spartans a lead they never relinquished.
Talbert’s and-one layup, followed by another score from Ibn Edwards extended Richmond Heights’ edge to nine, 28-19, just before half. Instead of taking momentum into the locker room, the Spartans yielded a second-chance score then a turnover led to free throws that brought Warren JFK back within five at the break.
Harris scored off a post touch to start the second half before Talbert hit a 3 to quickly put Richmond Heights up double digits. Harris followed with an and-one score in the paint before he and Talbert each scored to give the Spartans their largest lead, 40-23.
“We didn’t play great the first half,” Talbert said. “We had to come out with more energy in the second half, and it started in the first couple minutes.”
Warren JFK’s first points of the half came with 3:17 remaining, when Green made two foul shots. Green’s 3-pointer with 2:09 marked their first field goal of the third quarter.
The Eagles whittled their deficit to five, 44-39, in the fourth quarter before Jevontae Jones countered with a one-handed dunk in transition. The Spartans made 14 of 17 free throws in the fourth to secure their victory.
Richmond Heights’ next game will be played in front of a limited crowd, due to protocols implemented by the OHSAA in line with Governor Mike DeWine’s directive to help prevent the spread of novel coronavirus.
If any team is prepared for such a phenomenon, it’s Richmond Heights. As a result of construction at the school, the Spartans had to practice at a middle-school gym and played every game on the road this year.
“We’re used to it,” Rogers said. “I don’t think that’s going to bother us none. They have to get each other up, and they’ve done that throughout the course of the season.”
“We didn’t come out with that same energy that we came out with before. We just needed to turn it up, and we did that the second half.”