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Seitz, Greaver power McDonald past Sebring
By TIM CLEVELAND
Mcdonald
Anyone who just looked at the final score of McDonald’s 86-61 victory Friday night over Sebring would assume that it was just another dominant performance from the Blue Devils.
But for the first quarter and a half, the Trojans gave McDonald (4-1, 3-1 Inter Tri-County League, Tier 2) all it could handle before the Blue Devils got themselves on the right track, using a 31-2 run to take control.
“It was just effort on our part; too much reaching for the ball,” McDonald coach Jeff Rasile said. “We came out a little slow and got in a little foul trouble. Defensively, they did a pretty good job. They switched on screens and it took us a little time to react to it. Not our best basketball.”
Sebring (3-4, 1-4) broke McDonald’s pressure defense time and again early on, building a 25-19 lead midway through the second quarter. From then on, the Blue Devils turned things around.
“We were really successful for the first quarter, and then I don’t know if we got tired or what, but we kind of got away from what we were trying to do,” Sebring coach Josh Scott said. “We tried to make adjustments at halftime. We played them to a virtual tie in the second half. That second quarter was what set us back.”
From the midway point of the second quarter until early in the third, McDonald went on the 31-2 run to turn a six-point deficit into a comfortable 50-27 lead.
Ken Greaver paced the run for McDonald. The 6-foot-4 senior scored 13 points during that stretch and had 19 at the half. His basket put the Blue Devils ahead 26-25, which was an advantage they never lost. He later scored for a 36-27 lead, then added a hoop at the buzzer to make it 46-27 at halftime.
“I wouldn’t say I took it over,” Greaver said. “Everyone on my team stepped up, everyone made plays collectively, and they set me up to score the points.”
He spent most of the second half on the bench after being called for his fourth personal foul and finished with 23 points before fouling out with 7:09 to play.
“Kenny’s just got to control his emotions a little bit out there,” Rasile said. “He gets a little emotional at times out on the court.”
Dylan Mick paced Sebring with a game-high 26 points. He scored 10 in the third, including eight during a 12-4 run that brought the Trojans to within 60-41.
“He’s really starting to step up and be a leader,” Scott said. “We’ve talked about the seniors needing to lead these younger guys and there hasn’t been a lot of leadership for a while. He’s really stepped up and played hard and tried to stay focused.”
Matt Seitz led McDonald with 25 points, while Brad Woodley had 14 and Anthony Pugh scored 13.
Things don’t get easier for the Blue Devils, as they’re back in action tonight at Wellsville in a battle for ITCL supremacy.
“Wellsville, I think, is probably one of the top five teams in the state of Ohio in Division IV,” Rasile said. “Usually it’s them coming to us, now it’s us coming after them.”