By Tom Nader

Publisher and Editor

At one point of the third quarter on Friday, Streetsboro boys basketball head coach Nick Marcini exclaimed, “What are we at the line tonight?!”

It was an outburst born of frustration.

And one that was presented as a question, but not necessarily one he was looking for a specific answer on.

He already knew enough to know his team was struggling.

To his point, Marcini’s frustration was warranted.

Through the first three quarters, Streetsboro was just 5-of-12 from the free-throw line.

Then, suddenly, as an important ingredient of the a 54-44 come-from-behind Metro Athletic Conference win over Woodridge, the Rockets found their shooting touch.

At just the right time.

Streetsboro buried 16 of its 22 free throws in the fourth quarter.

A clutch performance that helped them win the fourth quarter, 25-13, and give the Bulldogs just their second league loss of the season and also avenge a 72-54 defeat back on Dec. 12 in Peninsula.

“To win games, you have to convert on your easy ones and those are free throws and layups,” Streetsboro head coach Nick Marcini said. “We were struggling at the line through a lot of the game, but they finally settled in and started hitting them at the right time that is for sure.”

In a game that was relatively tightly scored throughout, the Bulldogs (11-3, 9-2 MAC) built a 38-31 lead on a pair of free throws by Branden Evans and a layup by Carter Maxa at the 4:30 mark at a time when their team was building momentum and pulling away from the Rockets.

Streetsboro’s next possession provided an answer it so desperately needed, a 3 by Janiere Cook from the right wing that made it 38-34.

Cook’s long-range connection was the start of a 23-6 run by the Rockets to close out the game.

In successive possessions, Streetsboro continued its surge.

First, Ethan Laryea sky walked above a crowd to grab an offensive rebound and turn it into an easy layup putback to make it 38-36 Woodridge.

PJ Robinson and Cook then hit free throws to pulled the Rockets ahead 39-38, which was followed by a crucial layup from Adrian Monroe to lift the score to 41-38 with 1:55 to play.

From that point forward, Streetsboro found itself at the free-throw line often and delivered.

In the fourth quarter alone, Laryea was 7-for-8 and Robinson was 6-for-9. Braden Hodge and Cook also took their turns burying shots from the charity stripe.

Meanwhile, Woodridge’s offense, which had done a nice job of protecting the ball throughout the first 24 minutes, turned it over eight times in the game’s final 8 minutes. Many of the miscues came in the closing 4 minutes, fueling transition offense for the Rockets that either resulted in points from the field or trips to the line for points.

“This was a big win for us,” Marcini said. “I am really proud of the guys. They were resilient.”

For the longtime Rockets coach, it was another sign that his team is vastly different and has shown maturity and growth since struggling in December.

Streetsboro opened its season losing six of the year’s first eight games.

From that point, things have been significantly different and it started with a 58-43 win over Kent Roosevelt on Dec. 30.

Streetsboro (8-8, 6-5 MAC) has now won six of its last eight games.

“That shows what kind of players we have on this team,” Marcini said. “They believe in each other. When we were 2-6, they could have quit. When we had tough (narrow) losses to Field and Coventry, they could have quit. When we were held to only 16 points in a loss to Hudson, they could have quit. But they never did. They kept fighting, working hard in practice and believing.

“We went back to rebuilding some things through fundamentals, which my assistant coaches do a tremendous job with our skill work during practices,” Marcini added. “We knew if we worked hard, believed in each other and stayed coachable, the wins were going to come. So a lot of credit needs to go to the players for buying in.”

On Friday, Laryea led Streetsboro with 18 points. He shot 5-of-8 from the field and was 8-for-10 at the line. He also had four rebounds and four assists. He was joined in double figures by Cook and Robinson, who scored 14 and 11 points, respectively, for the Rockets. Cook also added seven rebounds and three assists, while Robinson contributed four steals.

Woodridge was led offensively by Evans, who scored 18 points, despite being plagued with foul trouble throughout the game. Maxa added 14 points and seven rebounds, while Kellen Moor had eight points and 10 rebounds for the Dogs.