KINGS OF THE COURT

By Jon Moffett

YCS bedevils McDonald to win its first district crown

STRUTHERS — Survive and advance.

Youngstown Christian used that motto for its 2009 basketball season. And the season culminated Friday in the form of a Division IV district championship with a 61-59 victory over McDonald. The Youngstown Christian student section wore white T-shirts with the slogan on them and cheered loudly for the Eagles.

“In a playoff game like this, everybody plays better,” said Youngstown Christian senior Olonzo Johnson. “At the end of the day, it’s about shutting the other team down, and whether the win is ugly or pretty, you just have to survive and advance.”

And the Eagles (20-3) will advance, to play Warren JFK in a regional semifinal in Canton on Tuesday.

The crowd was so loud that YCS coach Dolph Carroll said there were times his players couldn’t hear him from the bench.

“I tried to explain to [the team] about the atmosphere and that they weren’t going to be able to hear me,” Carroll said. “They really had to do it themselves. There wasn’t much coaching being done, it was all done in practice. And bless their hearts, they did it.”

Johnson, who finished with a game-high 16 points, said the student section was instrumental in helping the Eagles.

“I was very proud of them,” Johnson said. “They came out and supported us better than ever. This is the first time they’ve had something to scream about and show that they have school spirit.”

Youngstown Christian handed the Blue Devils (22-1) their first loss of the season. Johnson said going up against McDonald’s press defense was tough, but the Eagles played through it.

“You can’t really prepare for that press,” he said. “It’s live, it’s wild, it’s crazy, it’s unorthodox and at the end of the day it’s very effective. But we just came out, worked hard and practiced hard all week and we came out with the ‘W.’ ”

McDonald’s defense held the Eagles to 25 points in the first half. Sophomore Justin Rota had nine first-half points and helped the Blue Devils to a two-point lead at the half. Rota finished with 15 points, as did fellow sophomore Matthias Tayala.

Despite sharp shooting from Rota and Tayala, McDonald left a lot of points on the court. The Blue Devils were 17-of-29 at the free throw line. Coach Jeff Rasile said missing the shots was a key factor in the outcome of the game.

“We missed opportunities,” he said. “We tell our kids all the time, layups and free throws win championships because those are easy.”

As well as encouraging the Eagles, the crowd seemed to rattle the Blue Devils.

“We came out in a frenzied pace and we didn’t set up our offense,” Rasile said. “When you play at this level, you’ve got to take care of the ball and you’ve got to make free throws and layups. If you do that, you’ll win and if you don’t you’ll lose.”

Carroll, who is in his second year as coach for Youngstown Christian, said the crowd was unlike he had ever seen at the high school level.

“It was pandemonium,” he said. “I’m not sure there is a better venue than tonight’s game ... at this level, it doesn’t get much better. It was a lot of fun.”

The crowd was encouraged by the product on the floor. McDonald was down by double digits in the fourth quarter, but rallied back to within two points. With about 25 seconds left in the game, junior Devin Bansberg shot a 3-pointer. He missed but was fouled by Youngstown Christian junior Victor Shaw.

Bansberg made all three free throws, bringing the Blue Devils to within one. The Blue Devils intentionally fouled on the next series, sending senior Dante Yanno to the line. Yanno missed the first shot, but made the second to put the Eagles up by two.

McDonald got the ball back with 4.4 seconds left and Rota heaved a desperation shot, but it fell short.

jmoffett@vindy.com