By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

When the Southeast boys basketball team sets up its offense in the halfcourt, there is a consistent directive that comes from head coach Matt Dillon from the sideline.

Southeast’s Cohen Richardson scored 20 points on an efficient 7-of-9 shooting.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

“Move the ball!”

Dillon’s constant reminder keeps the Pirates inside their identity: Ball movement and body movement.

The fewer dribbles, the better.

“Our players realize that it is very important to our success to take care of the ball and share the ball,” Dillon said. “When we do those things, we always get goods.”

All of it was on display on Saturday for the Pirates, highlighting an exciting 65-53 road victory over the host Rootstown Rovers.

It was Southeast’s seventh consecutive win to start the season, with all seven coming by double-digits.

To get there, the Pirates shared the ball with 22 assists on 23 made field goals. Sophomore Bradley Dillon had 10 assists and fellow sophomore Caden Dillon had seven.

The Pirates also took care of the ball, with only eight turnovers for the game and zero in both the first and fourth quarters.

Another repeating number for the Pirates in the opening and closing quarters was that they scored 22 points in both.

To open the game, Southeast was as hot as any team could hope for, drilling 6-of-13 3-pointers.

Bradley Dillon, Cohen Richardson and Braedyn Walden all hit a pair and all came from around the perimeter like the Pirates were playing Around the World.

The Pirates’ Devyn Miller splits Rootstown defenders Carson Hayn (left) and Dean Abdlrasul.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

For much of the quarter, especially early, Rootstown had answers offensively on a run of its own 3-pointers from Blake Mullaly (2), Ethan White and Carson Hayn, but the Pirates eventually posted a 22-14 lead after the first quarter.

The Rovers were persistent to their gameplan in the second quarter, but did extend their man defense beyond the 3-point arc to help run the Pirates off their spots.

“Southeast was hot, but we told our guys that they couldn’t make every shot. We needed to keep workin hard, contest shots and if we did those things, we thought we could get back into the game by halftime.”

Rootstown won the second quarter, 13-7, to pull within 29-27 by the break.

The third quarter started slow and Southeast led 33-30 at 5:07 before it quickly ran off seven straight points.

To push the lead to 40-30, Bradley Dillon buried a 3, Richardson sunk a mid-range jumper in transition and then Bradley Dillon delivered a beautiful pass in the lane to Devyn Miller for a wide-open layup.

Southeast sophomore Bradley Dillon scored 16 points, had 10 assists and six rebounds on Saturday.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

From that point forward, the Pirates operated with a lead that danced between seven and 10 points the rest of the way. Rootstown’s closest fourth-quarter deficit was 54-47 on a three-point play by Hayn.

The Pirates were clutch at the free-throw line in the final minutes, hitting on 9-of-14.

After going to the line only once in the first three quarters, Southeast (7-0) had 14 attempts in the fourth quarter — a number heightened by Rootstown attempting to stop the clock and stretch out the game.

Southeast had four players reach double figures, with Richardson leading the way. The junior guard was incredibly efficient on his way to 20 points. He made 7-of-9 field goals, was 2-for-2 at the line and connected on 4-of-6 3-pointers. He also had a game-high eight rebounds.

Bradley Dillon had 16 points to get a double-double with his 10 assists. He also had six rebounds and two steals.

Walden scored 12, including six at the charity stripe in the fourth quarter, while Joe Sharish scored six of his 10 points in the final stanza.

“Joe is our lone senior and there is a lot of leadership that falls on his shoulders,” Dillon said. “He has been amazing for us. He has played a lot of varsity minutes in his career, but the way he has matured as a leader from his sophomore year until now has been special, and we rely on him to lead us in a lot of ways. We are really proud of him.”

Southeast senior forward Joe Sharish puts up a shot in the first quarter.
Paisley Nader/Portage Sports

Rootstown’s leading scorer was Mullaly, who had 18, and he also had a team-high seven rebounds. Hayn also reached double-digits with 15 points, while Caleb Fillmore scored nine for the Rovers (4-4).