Third-quarter eruption lifts Devils past Raiders
By RYAN JONES
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
NORTH LIMA -- McDonald High basketball coach Jeff Rasile wasn't sure how his team would fare against Inter Tri-County League opponent South Range without starting guard Steven Hughes in the lineup, who was out with mononucleosis.
"We weren't sure what our team chemistry was going to be like with [Steven] out," Rasile said. "This is his second year starting for us and he is averaging about 14 points per game."
The Blue Devils (7-0) struggled in the first half and clung to a 27-23 advantage at halftime, but erupted for 24 points in the third quarter to put away South Range, 68-41.
"At halftime we talked about getting better ball movement against their 2-3 zone," Rasile said. "We also focused on getting the ball inside to Bradley, [Hinton] which totally changed the complexion of the game.
"It forced them [South Range] to double down which opened up our outside game," Rasile said.
On a roll
Hinton, who finished with 15 points, scored two baskets as part of a 9-2 McDonald run that extended their lead to 11, 36-25.
The Blue Devils outscored the Raiders 24-5 in the period, which gave them a 51-28 advantage heading into the fourth.
Hinton and teammate Scott Sentner's presence inside opened the game up for senior Andy Timko, who scored 11 of his game high 22 points in the third period.
Timko, who missed on all 10 of his three-point tries in the first half, connected twice from downtown in the third.
Timko said his approach to the game didn't change from the first half to the second.
"I just tried to not lose confidence in my shot," Timko said. "The most important thing was that I kept shooting. It helped me after we got the ball inside to Brad."
Rasile said he was not nervous about Timko's first half performance.
"Andy's a shooter and we were confident that he would improve as the game progressed, which he did," Rasile said.
Better defense
McDonald ramped up their intensity on defense in the second half as well.
"We made a commitment to get after them man to man," Rasile said. "We wanted to be active and to get in the passing lanes without getting into foul trouble."
David Maxwell, who led South Range with eight first-half points, was held scoreless in the second half.
Coach Dave Purins said McDonald's aggressive defense was problematic for his team.
"Their ball pressure prohibited us from getting set offensively," Purins said. "We really struggled to get anything going offensively in the second half, but give them credit -- they were the aggressors on both sides of the ball."
McDonald misfired on its first 15 three-point tries, and finished just 4 of 22 from beyond the arc.
The Blue Devils opened the game on a 10-3 run, but South Range went to their 2-3 zone and eventually tied the game at 21 with 45 seconds remaining in the first half.
Zac Bierdeman led the Raiders with 14 points. Scott Sentner chipped in 13 markers for the Blue Devils.
McDonald will face Western Reserve next Friday.
Rasile said a lot will be riding on the contest with Reserve.
"I'd imagine that they won tonight and will be undefeated as well," Rasile said, correctly. "It will be a huge game."