North Ridgeville has played in close games all year, and the experience translated into the Division I postseason.
In the Division I Copley Sectional final on Feb. 25, Rhodes cut the Rangers’ lead to 65-62 in the fourth quarter. However, North Ridgeville went on an 8-0 run to secure a 73-62 win.
They advanced to a Copley District semifinal as they look to appear in its first district final in seven years.
“We have probably played in 12 or 13 really close games all year that’s prepared us for those moments,” North Ridgeville coach Ben Chase said. “They were pressing us and were giving us advantages offensively. We are comfortable playing in that (environment),”
The pace of the game never let up. From the opening tip, North Ridgeville and Rhodes battled. Sophomore Jackson Stacy scored 14 points, including three 3-pointers in the first quarter. One of his 3s was the team’s first basket to get the ball rolling.
“We want to come out every game fast. I felt like we hit a bunch of threes that got us out quickly. I felt like that’s what kept our lead the whole game,” Stacy said.
The Rangers led, 15-10 sometime in the first quarter, but the Rams went on an 11-0 run to lead, 21-15 to close it out.
“We let (Antwon Reynolds) get loose early and he is a heck of a shooter,” Chase said. “Once we started shading him more. We started trapping into the corner and that really bothered him, which forced him into some turnovers and we were able to play transition basketball. That is where we are at our best.”
They didn’t back down to the Rams, as they went on a 6-0 run to tie the game, 21-21. North Ridgeville led 36-28 at halftime.
North Ridgeville’s pace of play complements its lengthy athletic players such as Griffin Turay (24 points), Collin Jones (8), and Jake Boynar (19). They stood at least 6-foot-4-inches to hold a size advantage in the post, which gave them high-quality shots, as opposed to Rhodes’ 3-point shooting.
“We have a lot of size and it is athletic size,” Chase said. “(Turay) is 6-4 and Jake (Boynar) is 6-6 and Collin (Jones) is 6-5. Those guys get a lot of the boards for us and we knew that the entire emphasis was to rebound and hold them to one shot. At times, it was really good and at times, it was not really good and we did it for as much as we needed to do tonight.”
At first, Rhodes keyed in on Boynar, who didn’t score in the first quarter, but Turay and Stacy were there to take advantage of the open opportunities.
“I think (Rhodes) prepared for Jake (Boynar) pretty heavily, because Jake is a great player.” Turay said. “He was getting a lot of help (defense). They were pressuring us a lot. I feel like I was beating (my matchup) up the floor a little bit and getting some advantages for myself and my teammates.”
Rhodes’ leading scorer was Ken Giles, who scored 20. 16 of his points came in the second half. Reynolds scored 20 as well and Demitrius Jones had 13. The trio combined for 53 of the teams 62 points.
Rhodes concluded its season with a 16-7 record and won the Senate League championship. North Ridgeville improved to 18-6.
