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Change pays off as Loweville downs Reserve
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Lowellville High boys basketball coach Mike Mangine knows a little bit about intensity — or lack thereof — in a team.
By Greg Gulas
BERLIN CENTER
Lowellville High boys basketball coach Mike Mangine knows a little bit about intensity — or lack thereof — in a team.
That’s why after two consecutive losses he felt his team needed a change in its practice schedule.
Placing an emphasis on team play during the weekend workout, he also stressed being more physical if Lowellville expected to defeat Western Reserve Tuesday night.
The Rockets got the message loud and clear as Dean Donatelli scored a game-high 22 points and four starters scored in double figures as Lowellville defeated the Blue Devils, 64-50 in Inter Tri-County League Tier Two action at the Blue Devils’ gymnasium.
“We knew that we had to come out and get a fast start and that is exactly what we did tonight,” Donatelli said. “Playing our game was just one part of the game plan. The other part was attacking the basket at both ends of the court. The real key, however, was our patience; playing fast, not slow but being smart when we had the ball.
“This was a game that we needed if we expected to remain in the league race.”
The Rockets (6-4, 4-2) led from opening tip to final buzzer while the Blue Devils (6-3, 3-2) suffered their second league loss in five tries.
Six points by Donatelli, triples by David Wilaj and Carmen Donofrio and a pesky defense helped Lowellville to an 18-7 lead just eight minutes into the contest.
Two more triples by Wilaj and five points by Donofrio offset a 13-point second quarter by the Blue Devils’ Tom Benyo, allowing the Rockets to open up a 37-25 halftime advantage.
“Before the game we huddled as a team and said that we had better start quick,” Wilaj said. “We worked the ball, didn’t force out shots and they just fell for us.
“We were motivated tonight; it just didn’t feel that way over the past two games.”
A bucket by Spiro Schaildone at 1:22 of the third period gave Lowellville its largest lead of the night at 54-35, but a 4-2 run by Western Reserve to end the period cut the Rockets’ lead to 56-39.
“We’re not playing well right now,” Blue Devils coach Tim King said. “We’re not confident offensively like we were in the early part of the season, but we’ll get it back.
“As a defensive team we’re giving up lay-ups that we shouldn’t be giving up and it has hurt us. We also need to find another consistent scorer to complement Tom [Benyo].”
Six points by Donatelli then helped close out the Rockets’ victory, despite being outscored 11-8 in the final frame.
“Our Saturday practice was brutal and to their credit, they came out with a lot of energy tonight,” Mangine said. “Our team goes as Dean [Donatelli] goes and when he gets off early, the team just seems to rally around that.
“We need Dean to click on the inside because that opens up the outside for us. That is exactly what happened tonight,” he added.
The Rockets canned 28 field goals while limiting the Blue Devils’ to 17 while Western Reserve was 12-of-16 from the free throw line compared to just 2-of-11 for Lowellville.
Wilaj’s 12 points, Donofrio 11 and Drew McLaughlin 10 were the other Rockets players to score in double figures while Benyo had a team-high 17 points for the Blue Devils.
Dalton Korda was the only other Western Reserve player in double digits with 10.