Niles, Southeast click in meet

The Red Dragons bounced Salem while the Pirates ousted Crestwood in
sectional play.

By PETE MOLLICA

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

BOARDMAN — Niles McKinley High basketball coach Rick Kover said that when you play a team for the third time it usually comes down to which team shoots better in that meeting.

Niles didn’t shoot all that much better than Salem Monday at Boardman High in the opening round of the Division II sectional tournament, but the Red Dragons did well in the second half and walked away with a 41-36 triumph.

The Dragons advance to the sectional final on Friday where they will meet the winner of tonight’s contest between Liberty and Lakeview.

In Monday’s other contest, Southeast rolled to an easy 68-56 victory over Crestwood.

Niles (10-11) never led until midway in the third quarter against the Quakers (10-11). But once they had it, they lost it only once the rest of the way and outscored Salem 24-16 the final two quarters.

The two teams split in their two regular season meetings.

“It’s always tough to play a team three times in a season,” Kover said. “You pretty much know what the other is going to do and you try to throw in a few wrinkles, but it usually comes down to which team shoots better and we did in the second half.

“I thought our defense was the difference,” Kover said. “We tried to mix it up all night and our man-to-man in the final quarter was the best it’s been all season.

“I thought our guard play with Danny [Rosenberger] and Ryan [Frantz] really set the tempo for us tonight,” Kover said. “And Vince Melillo did a great job on the boards especially in the second half.”

Salem High head coach Will Klucinec praised the Dragons.

“Give Niles credit they did the job in the second half,” Klucinec said. “Rick Kover does a great job there and Frantz is a great shooter. You just can’t give him a look because every time we did he made it.

“We didn’t shoot the ball very well in the final quarter when we needed to, but that’s the way tournament time goes, one team does well and moves on and the other goes home.”

Frantz led the Red Dragons with 17 points including three 3-point baskets and made three straight shots in the third period that helped Niles maintain its lead.

Niles trailed 20-17 at halftime and didn’t take the lead until Rosenberger drove the lane and scored to tie the game at 22-22 with 4:56 remaining. He also was fouled and put the Dragons up 23-22.

Frantz then hit his three buckets in a row as Niles increased its lead to 29-25, but the Quakers battled back and were within two points after three quarters on a tap in at the buzzer by Nick Anderson 32-30.

Chris Brown hit a 3-point goal to open the final quarter to give Salem the lead 33-32, but Melillo followed with a three-point play to but Niles back on top for keeps.

The Quakers never scored another field goal after Brown’s 3-pointer and missed their final nine shots from the field. Niles only made one more basket, but the Red Dragons made four of six foul shots over the final two minutes to put the game away.

Jordon Strabala led Salem with 11 points, while Austen Hutton added 10.

Southeast (8-13) jumped out to 22-10 first quarter lead and never trailed against Crestwood (3-18) behind 17 points from Alex Blake and two more from Joe DeJacimo, both off the bench.

The Red Devils loss took away from a 30 point performance by Kyle Walters, which included six 3-point goals.

The Pirates advance to meet unbeaten and top-seeded Poland on Friday at 6 p.m.

mollica@vindy.com