South Range rally sinks Lowellville

The Raiders outscored the Rockets in the second half, 35-17, for a 56-44 win.
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
NORTH LIMA -- After an uninspired first half against injury-depleted Lowellville, South Range High basketball coach Dave Purins gave his players a halftime pep talk about aggressive defensive play.
Purins words struck home as the Raiders soared to their fourth straight victory, outscoring the Rockets 35-17 for a 56-44 home victory Tuesday.
"I just talked to the guys about having pride in the way they play defense and in their abilities," said Purins, the Raiders' first-year coach. "I challenged them to pick up the aggressiveness."
Taking Purins' words to heart were seniors David Maxwell, Josh Less and David Rach, who took advantage of multiple Rockets turnovers to seize control of the game.
Maxwell and Rach each scored eight points in the fourth quarter as the Raiders (5-7) dominated 20-6 down the stretch.
South Range's spurt follows a 1-7 start and Less' return after being hurt playing football.
Because about half of the Raiders play football (and South Range often plays deep into November), Maxwell said it's a challenge to get the team to jell.
"[For] our first game, we had our whole team for a week-and-a-half, and we knew everyone was going to be rusty, that we'd have to keep going at it," said Maxwell, who scored 19 points. "We won the first game, then lost seven in a row.
"We knew that it would take time before it would come together and we would play to our capabilities," Maxwell said.
Football players big boost
Purins said the football players are a boost to his program.
"We're patient and work them in slowly -- we understand that we're going to be behind so we want them to believe in their abilities," Purins said.
"The winning attitude and tradition they bring to us is invaluable," Purins said. "We're hitting our stride now. Less had a huge defensive game for us tonight."
Rach and Less scored 14 and 11 points.
Maxwell said the turnaround from the losing streak has done wonders for the team's confidence.
"Practice is great, everybody is in a good mood," the 5-foot-10 senior guard said. "Even with four wins in a row, we're not satisfied. We want to get more to try and finish the season with more wins than losses."
Trailing 27-21 at halftime, Mario Nero's 3-pointer halfway through the third quarter extended the Rockets' lead to 34-25. That's when Maxwell took over.
Maxwell delivers
After scoring two baskets in the first half, Maxwell hit three baskets in the third quarter as the Raiders cut the Rockets' lead to 38-36.
After Nero hit two free throws, Less hit a 3-pointer, Maxwell scored two baskets and Rach one for a 45-40 Raiders lead.
"Coach [told] us at halftime that it all starts with defense," Maxwell said. "We came out and had a couple of stops, then made some baskets.
"Since the first week, Coach has been talking about getting better and better," Maxwell said. "Finally we needed to put one win together and that was what we needed. Now we're on a roll."
Lowellville coach Michael Mangine hopes the return of point guard Jimmy Sutton will provide a spark to the Rockets, who rely on their five starters.
"They just outplayed us," Mangine said. "We have a hard time putting four quarters together -- we're limited on our bench. We're struggling -- we're trying to use five guys and it's not enough."
Sutton is recovering
Sutton is recovering from surgery from a dislocated thumb.
"He's one of the most athletic kids we have," said Mangine, who added that the Rockets might be better than their 4-7 record indicates.
"We've been in every game except the McDonald game," Mangine said. "South Range worked hard -- they're a good team, too."
Nero led all scorers with 20 points while Jeremy Gruber netted 14.
williams@vindy.com