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McDonald’s pace wears down Lowellville
By ERIC FORTUNE
McDONALD
Coach Jeff Rasile has been looking for a spark to get his McDonald Blue Devils going as they have won three of their first four games by an average margin of 11 points.
For most coaches, that would not be too shabby.
But for a program that has played for a district title 11 of the last 12 years and won seven of nine Inter-Tri County League championships since 2006, expectations always seem to be a bit higher for the Blue Devils.
So when McDonald team finally got going and turned a five-point halftime lead into a 95-58 rout of Lowellville in Inter-Tri County League play on Friday night, Rasile could finally say that is what he wants his team to look like.
“That has probably been the most disappointing thing this year — not having that killer mentality to end the game,” Rasile said. “We talk to the kids all the time about that.
“There were a couple of times there in the second quarter, I thought we were a couple of possessions away from not ending the game, but making it difficult on them and we didn’t get the job done. That’s been a problem for us all five games. However, the second half is the way we want to play basketball.”
Joey Raggazzine led McDonald with 19 points, but Zack Fedyski (15), Jake Reckard (14) and Lucas Garland (10) also reached double figures. Evan Magill and David Rebraca each had nine.
Reckard — who had nine assists —got the Blue Devils going in a pivotal third quarter in which they outscored the Rockets 32-14.
Coming into the second half, Reckard had been held scoreless but his play on the defensive end helped the Blue Devils pick up the pace and shoot 13 of 22 from the field.
“We expect a lot from Jake,” Rasile said. “We keep pushing him, pushing him, and pushing him. I ride the kid the whole game, but I have high expectations for him. That is why I do it. He’s the catalyst to our team.”
The pace McDonald (5-0, 1-0) went with on the offensive end was key during that stretch as it was still only a six point game, 50-44 at 4:14 mark of the quarter before a barrage of baskets ignited a 21-4 run.
“This year, what we are doing different is playing a lot faster offensively,” Rasile said. “We always played that style defensively. We want to get a shot up now and to keep the pace going up and down which allows all nine of our kids to get in there and play their role.”
As is always the key with McDonald, the Blue Devils press the opposition into making mistakes. They forced 25 turnovers by Lowellville (2-3, 0-1).
“They were really exhausted,” Rasile said. “By the fourth quarter they didn’t even want to run up the court. They don’t have the depth we have. Our kids are used to that pace. They probably aren’t.”
The Rockets were led by Cole Beatty’s double-double of 16 points and 15 rebounds. He kept Lowellville in the game with his presence in the paint limiting McDonald’s second-chance points in the first half.
“Obviously, we knew Cole was their best player,” Rasile said. “He’s been a three-year starter basically. We wanted to keep him running up and down the court. They had to bring him up to break the press, which is fine with us. That means he has to run back, back and back. Obviously, by the end he was exhausted.”