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McDonald defense keeps team perfect
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McDonald Blue Devil Patrick Kunkel goes for a lay up while being defended by Columbiana Clipper Mardell Halas.
By Greg Gulas
Youngstown
At the midway point of the season, it remains no surprise to opposing teams that the McDonald defense continues to set the table for its run-happy offense.
Against Columbiana High in the Annual Lariccia High School Basketball Series, Matthias Tayala scored 20 points and the Blue Devils’ defense forced 31 turnovers as McDonald rolled to a 72-35 victory over the Clippers at the Covelli Centre on Monday. It was a game in which Blue Devils’ coach Jeff Rasile depended upon his three-year starters to set the tone.
“Nick and Justin Rota, and Matthias Tayala are used to playing at the Covelli Centre because they have played here the last three years. They are used to the court, but it was also a good experience for everyone on our team to get the opportunity to play in the game as well,” he said. “We came out and wanted to set the tone early with our defense. When we settled down we then began to shoot the ball well. Don’t look at the final score because coach [Grant] Spaite does an excellent job with his team.
“They lost three key seniors from last year’s team and they are rebuilding. They will only get better.,” he added. “We just wanted to come in here tonight and take care of business and that is exactly what we were able to do.”
McDonald (9-0) trailed 4-1 a little over a minute into the game, but Tayala’s 15 points keyed a 23-7 Blue Devils run as they forged a 24-11 lead heading to the second quarter of play.
Tayala, who also hauled down a game-high six rebounds, felt the key to the game was his team’s fast start.
“Coach [Rasile] told us that we needed to start strong because we haven’t exactly done that lately. While we are playing well right now, we can still get better and that remains our goal each and every time out,” he said. “In addition to our defense, credit also needs to go to Justin Rota. He finds the open man when he has the ball and is truly one of the best point guards, not just in the area but in the state.”
Nick Rota then added 13 of his 16 points in the second quarter as the Blue Devils built a commanding lead at halftime.
“No matter what the score we were pushed the entire game by Columbiana. While we wanted to set the tone defensively, they still made sure that they applied pressure to us when we had the ball,” Rota said.
Nine points by Louie Ronghi after the intermission stretched the Blue Devils’ lead to 62-24 with eight minutes remaining.
Columbiana then outscored McDonald, 11-10 in the final quarter on the strength of Hank Schlueter’s nine points, but it was too little, too late as the Clippers fell for the eighth time in 10 outings.
“McDonald is an excellent team and they make sure to apply plenty of pressure when you have the ball. We’ve had to replace three seniors who a season ago provided 75 percent of our offense,” Spaite said. “What pleased me most tonight is that we kept playing hard and refused to quit. This is a scrappy group that keeps coming at you until the final buzzer sounds.”