Campbell's defense stuffs Niles, 57-26 Jermaine Richardson and Bryant Burt led the Red Devils to their seventh win.

By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CAMPBELL -- Campbell High boys basketball coach Brian Danilov said he lost sleep over the prospect of guarding Niles standouts Jared Allen and Sean Cleary.
"They've kept me awake at night for four years," he said. "It feels like they're fifth-year seniors, they've been around so long."
Danilov probably didn't have any trouble sleeping Tuesday night. As for Niles coach Rick Kover, that's a different story.
The Red Devils' defense suffocated the visiting Red Dragons on Tuesday, holding them to 8-of-34 shooting while forcing 18 turnovers en route to a 57-26 victory in a Metro Athletic Conference game.
"It was a combination of a lot of factors," Kover said. "Their defense is outstanding. They were the better team tonight by far.
"We got outplayed and we got out-coached. And that's gonna change."
Richardson, Burt key win
Campbell senior Jermaine Richardson had 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and five steals to lead the Red Devils (7-2, 4-1), whose lone league loss came against Canfield. Bryant Burt added 13 points and six rebounds and had one of Campbell's four dunks on the night.
Tommy Hall had the other three dunks -- two on set plays and one off a put-back -- to finish with eight points and Antwan Dawson added 10 points for Campbell, which had assists on 11 of its 22 field goals.
"Our team is unselfish," said Danilov. "We had a lot of good looks at the hoop and we created some nice opportunities."
Still, Danilov wasn't satisfied. When asked if it was the best his team had played this season, he shook his head.
"We played well in spots," he said. "We played good defense at times, but we still had too many breakdowns, both on offense and defense.
"There's a lot of areas of concern. We can get better."
Campbell goes on 10-point run
Niles only held one lead and that came on the first basket, a driving shot by Cleary. Campbell then scored 10 straight points before Cleary added another basket just before the quarter ended.
Things got worse in the second quarter as Campbell scored 10 of the first 12 points to take a 20-6 lead. The game was never competitive in the second half as the lead stayed above double digits.
"You're going to have some games like this," said Kover. "Hopefully, not a lot of games like this, but it happens."
Vince Melillo scored nine points and grabbed five rebounds to lead Niles (6-5, 2-3), while Cleary had seven points and five rebounds.
"I told them in the locker room, 'Don't dwell on this, but remember what it feels like,' " said Kover. "That way, it'll never happen again."
Although the Red Devils only trail Canfield in the league race, Danilov expects to be challenged by every team in the conference. And he said Niles is a better team than it showed.
"They've got some good outside shooters and they're just a tough team, as are all the teams in the MAC," said Danilov. "Every team has two or three really good players and a bunch of tough guys."
scalzo@vindy.com