By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

Sometimes playing on Senior Night can be tricky to navigate.

While the pageantry celebration is deserved, appreciated and designed to generate a memorable moment, it can also prompt clunky starts for teams as all of the extra periphery emotion can create distractions.

In the opening moments of Friday’s game, it appeared that the Ravenna boys basketball team may be susceptible to that kind of disjointed start.

The visiting Field Falcons jumped out to an early lead on a pair of 3-pointers from Mason Fulst and a layup from Evan Pruszynski.

But then the Ravens came alive.

Jumpstarted by a spirited effort from Sean Jordan, the Ravens found their rhythm to take a 22-13 first-quarter lead that they never lost again on their way to an emotional 67-47 Metro Athletic Conference victory on Friday that also was spotlighted by senior Curtis “CJ” Ross becoming only the third player in program history to reach the 1,000-point milestone.

The win is Ravenna’s fourth in a row, which is the team’s longest win streak since running off eight consecutive victories in the early portion of the 2022-23 league-championship season.

Jordan’s all-around floor game was impressive. He very nearly notched a quadruple-double, finishing the game with 10 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and seven steals. He also added three blocked shots, as his fingerprints were all over the Ravens’ big win.

“Sean has been phenomenal for us all season, but he has really come alive in the last four or five games,” Ravenna first-year head coach Justin Rahim said. “He is a senior leader, and he has been leading by example. He does not want the season to be over, so he is doing everything he can to have our team playing at the highest level possible as we head into the tournament. He has been an absolute pleasure to coach.”

Ross’ historic scoring milestone did not come until the final minute of the fourth quarter. He was fouled on a drive to the basket and hit a pair of free throws to lift him over 1,000 career points. Only Stan Trivelli and Jordan Jones have reached the achievement for the Ravens (11-8, 7-6 MAC).

“It was such a special feeling to be able to share this with all of my teammates, who are my best friends,” Ross said. “Initially, part of me did not want to get 1,000 on Senior Night, because this night is about all of us and I didn’t want an individual honor to take away from that, but my teammates all told me to just go get it. That is the kind of brotherhood we have together. They support me, and I love all of them.”

For the majority of the game, Field’s defensive strategy was a Box-and-One, isolating a primary defender to stay with Ross in a man defense, while the four other Falcons were in a matchup zone at the elbows and blocks.

To Ross’ credit, he did not force the issue to get his shots up throughout the majority of the game and allowed his scoring mark to come to him.

It was a mature approach that did not surprise Rahim.

“CJ is special like that,” Rahim said. “The first time we played Field, they went into a Box-and-One in the fourth quarter, so we prepared to see it again tonight. We practiced with only four players on the floor and CJ sitting out, and we practiced with CJ not even allowed to shoot the ball — just to get all of our players confident on what we can do to attack that defense. And CJ just let the game come to him tonight. I told him that God has a plan and God will let his moment come at the right time, and what better time to do it than on Senior Night. I am very proud and happy for him.”

Ravenna boosted its lead from nine points at the end of the first quarter to 15 by halftime, 37-22. 

The Ravens used an active and engaged three-quarter court 1-2-2 press. And while the press did not result in a hampering amount of turnovers for the Falcons, it did keep them uncomfortable, slowed them for finding any offensive consistency and disrupted the initiation of halfcourt sets.

“We installed that press about midway through the season, and we just want to try to use our athleticism and speed to our advantage,” Rahim said. “Our guys are very comfortable in it now and it doesn’t matter who we have on the court, they all can rotate to a spot. It has been paying off for us. They are playing hard and playing with passion.”

To start the second half, Field (6-15, 4-10 MAC) seemed on the brink of reclaiming some momentum, opening the quarter on an 8-2 run that was highlighted by 3-pointers buried by Joey Conroy and Brian Fox, along with a layup by a cutting Fox on a nice dropoff pass from Evan Pruszynski.

The offensive flurry cut the Ravens’ lead to single-digits again, 39-30, with 3:41 on the clock.

However, the Falcons scored just one more point the rest of the quarter, allowing the Ravens to close on an 8-1 run to maintain a 47-31 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Blake Cutting, who hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first half, led the Ravens in scoring with 16 points. Ross finished with 15 and Jordan was the third player in double figures with 10.

Ravenna out-rebounded Field 38-24, with Jordan pulling a team-high 10, with LaDarion Askew with seven rebounds, Cutting with six and Ross had five for the Ravens, who also celebrated all seven seniors reaching the scoring column.

Field also had three hit double-digits for scoring. Freshman Mason Fulst led the way with 13 points. Fulst also had team highs in rebounds (8) and assists (5). Another freshman, Paxson Silveus added 11 points, four rebounds and four assists, while Fox also hit for 11 points.