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McDonald advances again
Wellsville runs out of gas in second half
By Steve WILAJ
STRUTHERS
Jake Reckard, a starting senior guard for McDonald, has been around long enough to know this about the Blue Devils’ full-court pressure defense that they apply for entire games.
“The thing with the press — it might not always work the first couple quarters,” he said. “But that second half when everyone’s legs are tired, we try to find it in us to work harder.”
In Friday’s Division IV district final against Wellsville at Struthers High School, McDonald’s pressure wasn’t particularly effective in the first half, as the Tigers played the Blue Devils to a tie after two quarters.
But like Reckard said, McDonald’s pressure took its toll in the final frames, as the Blue Devils used a 19-point second-half advantage to down Wellsville, 67-48, and claim another district title.
“It was just about the constant pressure on them,” said Blue Devils coach Jeff Rasile, whose team forced 20 turnovers.
“In the first half, especially early, they were lobbing over our heads and taking off. And we couldn’t make a shot and they came out firing. But I think the constant pressure wore them down and got into their heads a little bit.”
Braeden Poole paced second-seeded McDonald (23-3) with 15 points, while Reckard added 14 points, Zack Fedyski scored 10 and Evan Magill notched nine points.
“Coach Rasile is a great coach and he’s been here many times,” Reckard said. “He told us that the team that works the hardest, has the least amount of turnovers and rebounds the most will win this game. We pride ourselves on working hard and I think we got it done tonight.”
Fourth-seeded Wellsville (20-6) entered with momentum, as it downed top-seeded Lisbon on Tuesday.
Jake Green scored a game-high 26 points (6 of 9 from 3-point range) for the Tigers, but Michael Shope and Justin Miller — who scored 26 and 24 points, respectively, against Lisbon — were held to five and seven points apiece.
“We pushed the ball and stayed in our zone — stayed with what we tried to do and made our shots,” Wellsville coach Bug Thompson said of the first half. “But we cracked in the third quarter. It killed us. Turnovers and missed layups, that’s what killed us tonight. Just too much pressure.”
With the score tied at 29 at the break, McDonald jumped ahead early in the third quarter and took a seven-point lead into the fourth. The Blue Devils then won the fourth-quarter, 25-12, as it was keyed by forcing Wellsville into 12 second-half turnovers.
“The constant pressure is going to wear you down,” Rasile said. “It’s tough. They’re not as deep as we are this year, so we were able to exploit that.”
McDonald, paced by Reckard’s eight boards, outrebounded the Tigers, 39-29. Wellsville’s Branzen Grodhaus grabbed 10 rebounds to go with his eight points.
“We got the whole team coming back next year, so this is just something to build on,” Thompson said. “Nobody thought we’d make it this far. So I can’t complain. Our guys will realize what they did wrong.”
McDonald advances to play in a regional semifinal on Tuesday at 6:15 p.m. at the Canton Fieldhouse.