By Roger Gordon

Correspondent

Trailing Suburban League American Conference rival Aurora 14-13 after one quarter Jan. 30 at home, Kent Roosevelt got it in gear.

The Rough Riders forged ahead 30-24 at halftime, padded the lead to 46-33 after the third quarter and cruised to a 62-46 win.

Kent Roosevelt is now 6-13 overall and 2-10 in the conference.

Pacing the home team was senior forward Gavin Peeps, who hung up a double-double with 24 points (including three 3-pointers) and 11 rebounds to go with three assists and a steal.

“Gavin had a great game,” head coach Curtis Black said. “He was very aggressive from the beginning, and that really drove us as a team. I think everyone piggybacked off his energy.”

Other key contributors were junior point guard Sevyn Jones, junior forward Cyler Foreman and senior forward E.J. Churn. Jones scored 13 points and had three rebounds, three assists and a block; Foreman scored 10 points to go with five boards and an assist; and Churn pulled down seven rebounds and had a career-high five assists and three steals.

“Sevyn had nine points in the second half. He ended up being very aggressive, getting to the paint, finishing in transition. He did a good job passing the ball, too,” said Black. “Cyler was consistent all night. It felt like he almost didn’t even miss (any shots). He also rebounded the ball very well. E.J. didn’t fill it up in the scoring column, but he filled it up everywhere else. He impacted the game with rebounding and defense, taking two charges.”

SOUTHEAST

A sensational season for Southeast continued Jan. 31 in a 63-56 triumph at Waterloo.

The Pirates are now 15-3 on the season.

Although the visitors led the whole way – 22-10 after one quarter, 31-23 at the half and 48-39 after three quarters – they were never really able to shoo the Vikings.

“It was a really good basketball game,” head coach Matt Dillon said. “We were up by only two points late in the fourth quarter, but we hit a couple free throws. Our team chemistry has been great.”

Leading the way for the Pirates were junior guard Cohen Richardson with 22 points and senior Joe Sharish with 14 points. Sophomore Bradley Dillon scored 10 points and sophomore guard Caden Dillon tallied nine points, while their classmate Devyn Miller totaled nine rebounds.

“Both Cohen and Caden played well. Joe and Bradley had solid games, too,” said Dillon. “We have been very pleased with Devyn and (junior) Braedyn Walden and their consistency on defense.”

CRESTWOOD

Hiram College’s Price Gymnasium has a seating capacity of 2,000, small potatoes compared to, say, Ohio State’s Value City Arena that holds almost 20,000 fans.

But to head coach Andrew Mertz and his Crestwood team, whose gymnasium is much smaller than Hiram’s gym, opposing Garfield Jan. 31 in Price Gymnasium was a thrilling experience.

“It was a great atmosphere, very exciting,” Mertz said.

On top of that, it was a rivalry game, and a closely contested affair, that the Red Devils won 61-57. They are now 6-10 on the season.

“We had some guys who had been sick all week, but our guys battled very well,” said Mertz. “Angelo Dinardo, our big guy, went down, rolled his ankle a little, in the Wickliffe game the night before, so we were a little concerned about that, but he played pretty well.”

Despite getting into foul trouble early and fouling out early in the fourth quarter, Dinardo, a senior center, still managed to turn in a double-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds and two steals for good measure.

“Angelo continues to be a force on the boards. That’s his biggest asset that he provides us,” said the coach. “He does quite a bit of scoring as well. He had a great game. He made some really big plays, got some really good rebounds, had some really good work around the rim.”

Replacing Dinardo was junior Carter Jones, who hit two big shots.

Also playing well were guards Joel Custer, a senior, and Colton Mayle, a sophomore.

Custer scored 21 points and had eight rebounds, five assists, a steal and three blocks, while Mayle had 15 points, two rebounds, three assists and two steals.”

“Joel was absolutely huge for us,” Mertz said. “He’s always been a very good threat for us offensively. He’s probably the best guy on our team at really getting downhill, forcing the action offensively and finishing at the rim. Lately, his defensive effort and intensity have really elevated, and I think that’s bought him a lot more minutes and a lot more time on the floor; I think it’s increased his confidence quite a bit, too. He’s really riding the high that’s helping us out a lot.

“Colton hit two 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions late in the game and were probably the most important, momentum-shifting shots in the game.”

STREETSBORO

With senior Ryan Roscoe having missed the last month, Streetsboro head coach Nick Marcini is thrilled that he has been able to rely on a trio of Rockets whop have stepped up scoring-wise — senior forward Janiere Cook, junior guard P.J. Robinson and senior point guard Ethan Laryea.

“Those guys have really picked up the scoring slack for us,” Marcini said of his threesome who most recently accounted for 48 of his squad’s 58 points in a 58-42 victory Jan. 30 at home over Metro Athletic Conference (MAC) foe Ravenna.

Streetsboro is now 9-8 overall and 7-5 in the MAC.

Cook scored 21 points (including two 3-pointers) and had five rebounds, two assists and four steals. Robinson scored 17 points to go with four rebounds, two assists and five steals. Laryea tallied 10 points, six rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks.

“Janiere had a really strong game,” said Marcini. “He was able to knock down a couple shots. He’s been shooting the ball pretty well. He also did a good job getting to the bucket. He’s been playing pretty well for us down the stretch here. We count on him for a little toughness factor, too

“P.J. did a good job getting to the bucket. He gets some steals and deflections and does a good job of getting out and finishing transition, knocking down a couple free throws for us.

“Ethan has been great for us down the stretch. He’s finally playing like we expect him to. He impacts the game as you see in his stat line. He’s our biggest guy, but he’s also our point guard. He runs the show offensively, distributes the ball well, has been finishing a lot better as of late. He also does a great job defensively by getting a bunch of steals, deflections and blocks. He’s just all over the place.”

Streetsboro led 16-4 after one quarter, 27-14 at halftime and 43-30 after three periods.

“Ravenna hung around and stayed in the game,” said the coach, “until we were able to run it out at the end.”

AURORA

Aurora stayed within striking distance Jan. 30 at Suburban League American Conference rival Kent Roosevelt, but once the Greenmen’s deficit grew to double digits in the third quarter, it was simply too big a hole from which to dig out.

The final score was 62-46. Aurora is now 8-9 overall and 7-5 in the conference.

“In the first half we were able to pressure Roosevelt on defense, but they did a better job of handling it the second half,” head coach Cody Calhoun said. “They also got out in transition a couple times and used their size and athleticism to score at the rim as well.”

Playing well were junior guard/forward Gui Goedert, senior guard Johnny Trivisonno, both of whom scored in double figures, and senior forward Luke Bonnett, who scored about eight points.

“Gui has the ability to attack the rim and do some different things,” said Calhoun. “He also brings that same kind of versatility for us defensively where we can have him guard some different guys. He had to battle through foul trouble a little bit at different points in the game.

“Johnny had to do a lot of different things for us. Offensively he had to handle the ball, bring it up. We also needed him to be aggressive in trying to go score, creating for other guys, getting us into our offense. On the other end, he was tasked with guarding their best guard, a guy seven inches taller than him. He set the tone for us defensively from the top.

“Luke is our physical post guy inside, anchors our post offensively and defensively. He brings a physical presence to the floor. He does a little bit of everything – from a leadership standpoint, toughness … he does a lot of stuff that doesn’t show up in the stat book. He always leads us in rebounding but also leads us in charges taken this season.”

GARFIELD

Garfield’s game against Crestwood Jan. 31 in Hiram College’s Price Gymnasium was quite a tussle, nip-and-tuck throughout. The G-Men came out on the short end by a 61-57 score.

They are now 6-11 on the season.

“It really just came down to a couple possessions at the end where Crestwood made some shots and made some plays and we didn’t,” head coach Matt Hill said.

A trio of juniors was responsible for most of Garfield’s scoring. Forward Devin Bates led the way with 18 points (on 9 of 11 shooting) and had seven rebounds, an assist and a block.

Guard Collin McGranahan scored 16 points (including two 3-pointers) to go with seven rebounds and two steals, while guard Oliver Walker had 14 points (including a 3-pointer), eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.

“Devin played well, was extremely efficient,” said Hill. “Collin has been back a few weeks coming off of a football injury. He’s been a good spark for us. It’s nice having him back.

Oliver had a good all-around game. For a guard, he rebounds really well; he leads us in rebounding with eight per game. He also leads us in assists. He’s not always our leading scorer, but he does a lot of those little things. He’s a scorer and is a playmaker for us.”

WATERLOO

A slow start by host Waterloo Jan. 31 led to an 11-4 deficit right out of the gate to Southeast. Then the Vikings gave up a 3-point shot at the end of the first quarter that gave the visitors a 22-10 lead.

“That 3-pointer kind of deflated us,” head coach Gavin English said of his team that stayed within striking distance but wound up falling 63-56 and is now has a record of 5-14. “It was pretty close the rest of the way, but we just didn’t have enough toward the end.”

Pacing Waterloo was sophomore guard Trevor Flarida with 14 points, including a 3- pointer and 7-of-10 from the free-throw line, all in the fourth quarter.

“Trevor struggled in the first half but came alive in the fourth quarter; he threw in a couple layups,” said English.

Senior forward Isaac Hall scored 12 points and junior guard Mason Biltz had 11 points.

“We were outsized all night long, but Isaac pulled down some big rebounds for us. He was fantastic on the boards. He was tenacious on defense all game long,” the coach said. “Mason has the ability to score, but there have been a few times this season where he just wanted to get the ball up the court and facilitate to others. In this game, he was aggressive all night long. He put his head down and scored when he got to the basket.”

FIELD

It was bad enough that host Field was down by double digits late in the second quarter Jan. 30 to Metro Athletic Conference (MAC) rival Cloverleaf.

When senior forward Sam Confer, however, was lost for the rest of the game due to a nagging shoulder injury, that pretty much put the nail in the coffin.

A 29-19 halftime deficit ballooned to 55-35 after three quarters en route to a 78-47 defeat.

The Falcons are now 5-13 overall and 4-8 in the MAC.

“Cloverleaf is a very athletic team,” head coach Alex Blake said. “They get into you physically, they play with one hand on you defensively and they create a lot of turnovers.”

Pacing Field was freshman point guard Paxson Silveus, who scored 19 points and had four rebounds and two assists

“Paxson has stepped in the last few games with Mason Fulst, our other freshman guard, out with an ankle injury,” said Blake. “Paxson is handling the ball alongside Joey Conroy, our senior guard. Paxson is creating his own shots but also facilitating for other guys to get points. He has a mindset where he’s always going to try to get downhill and find a way to score when he knows we have to try to keep the game close and make some runs to make things interesting.”

Junior Jackson Berlin replaced Confer and ended up with four points and six rebounds.

“Jackson was in there battling and banging bodies, trying to get offensive rebounds and snatching up the defensive rebounds we need to not give up second-chance opportunities,” said the coach. “He just played hard. He’s filling a big role, and he’s going to get a lot of minutes, a lot of experience, going into his senior year.”

WINDHAM

Windham was coming off just its second win of the season the night before heading into its Jan. 31 game at Warren Champion.

“We were trying to be optimistic, have some new energy,” head coach Cody Apthorpe said. “I thought the first quarter reflected that. We came out and scored pretty well,” head coach

Cody Apthorpe said of his team that enjoyed a 15-8 lead entering the second quarter. “From there on, our offense was extremely spotty. We had some moments where we had some individuals create some plays for themselves, but as the game went on I thought we lacked some movement, and we unfortunately didn’t get enough scoring to ever really get the momentum back on our side after that first quarter.”

The Bombers trailed 22-19 at the half and 31-27 after three quarters en route to a 42-37 loss. They are 2-15 on the season.

“On Friday we were also losing at halftime, so the hope wasn’t lost, just being down a few points,” said Apthorpe. “It was definitely a competitive game, one that, had we been able to produce a little bit more offense throughout and get a little bit more swings of momentum our way, we could’ve had a different outcome.”

Despite the tough defeat, three players who performed well were senior forward Matt Kolaczek (scored in double figures), senior guard Gavin Kiser (nine points) and junior guard Dejuan Ramsey.

“The last few games, Matt has been a lot more active on offense,” said Apthorpe. “He does a really nice job scoring inside, and he does an even better job getting offensive rebounds where he’s able to get quick putbacks. Whether our guys are feeding him inside or he’s just collecting offensive rebounds, he’s been able to do that a lot more for us recently.

“Gavin gave us a spark at a few key parts of the game. He came out an made three shots behind the arc in the first half. That was a solid effort. Dejuan was an offensive guy for us.”