Scoring outbursts carry McDonald past M. Ridge

Lance Ronghi scored 24 points to lead the Blue Devils.

By JIM FLICK

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

MINERAL RIDGE — In a hard-fought battle between backyard rivals, scoring outbursts at the end of the first half and in the final moments of the fourth quarter gave the McDonald High boys basketball team a 62-51 victory over Mineral Ridge Friday.

“It doesn’t take much to get the kids up for this game,” said McDonald assistant coach Brian Higgins. “This is the rivalry. The crowds are into it, the kids all know each other.”

Playing tenacious defense, the Blue Devils and Rams traded narrow leads for most of the first half. The first quarter ended in an 11-11 tie.

With less than two minutes remaining in the first half, Mineral Ridge held what would turn out to be its last lead of the night at 21-20. McDonald’s Mikey Thomas answered with a layup to give the Blue Devils a lead they would never relinquish.

Lance Ronghi followed with a field goal and a free throw to boost McDonald’s lead to 25-21. After the free throw, the Blue Devils stole the inbounds pass. Ronald Johnson scored a field goal, was fouled and sank a free throw to increase the lead to 28-21 as the first half ended.

After halftime, McDonald fought off Mineral Ridge and still held a healthy lead after three quarters, 40-33.

Led by T.J. Bevilacqua, the Rams battled back in the fourth quarter. With about two minutes remaining, Justin Lasher nailed a 3-pointer to cut McDonald’s lead to 45-44, and the crowd erupted.

But the Blue Devils also erupted, outscoring the Rams 17-7 in the game’s final minutes. Ronghi again played a key role, swishing six free throws in the final minute of the game. Ronghi sank all 11 of his foul shots Friday night, including a 10-for-10 effort in the second half. Ronald Johnson scored the game’s final points on a layup.

Ronghi scored a game-high 24 points for McDonald, while Mikey Thomas added 13 points, center Aaron Streb contributed 11 points and Ronald Johnson scored 10 points.

Bevilacqua led the Rams’ scoring efforts with 22 points, including four 3-pointers, while Cody Graham tallied 10 points, and Lasher and Nick Miele added nine points each.

“At the end, we knew that to win we had to hit our free throws,” Higgins said after the game. Higgins stood in for excitable head coach Jeff Rasile, who lost his voice after the game.

Winning Friday night’s game was important for the Blue Devils because the team wants to build momentum before starting the state tournament next week, Higgins added. McDonald has one regular-season game remaining before the tournament begins Tuesday at Bristol.

“We are a team that builds on momentum,” Higgins said. “And we wanted to win tonight so we could go into the tournament with momentum.”

“It’s a big rivalry,” said Mineral Ridge head coach Sam Racketa.

Referring to McDonald’s game-winning scoring outbursts at the end of the second and fourth quarters, Racketa added, “When you’re playing from behind all the time, you get tired.”