Boys basketball: Midview savors easy win after three close losses

EATON TWP. — After starting their season with three close losses, Midvew took out a month's worth of frustration on North Olmsted on Tuesday night. Seniors Aden Gregory and Nyco Vidal led the Middies with 15 points each, helping Midview build a 25-point first-half lead on the way to a 78-34 Southwestern Conference win. "Our last three games we've been up by two with two minutes and we didn't close it out," Gregory said. "This was important for our confidence. Setting up in our defense and seeing it work so well and getting off to such a good starts gives us the confidence to know we can play like this every game." After North Olmsted (0-4) took a 5-2 lead on a 3-pointer from junior guard Davonte Demianov, the Middies responded by going on an 18-0 run and holding the Eagles without a field goal for the next 11:22. Demianov led the Eagles with 14 points. Midview (1-3) went into the locker room at halftime with a 35-10 lead but the best was yet to come for the Middies as they build its lead to as many as 37 points in the third quarter. Vidal scored 11 of his points in the third quarter, including a pair of 3-pointers. "We needed this win," Vidal said. "We knew we should have won those first three games. We've been working hard, there's been no discouragement from any of the guys. I'm really proud of how everyone has stuck with it and stepped up tonight." The Middies had 10 players score. "It's feels good to get that first win. We had a rough first week," Middies coach Jim Brabenec said. "We were struggling last week but we knew if we'd just kept playing hard and competing the ball would eventually bounce our way." Bryce Newton also had 14 points for the Middies. As impressive as the Midview offense was Tuesday night the defense was even better. The Middies held North Olmsted to 32 percent shooting and forced 22 turnovers. "We were running our 2-3 zone and getting into the gaps and not letting them get shots on the inside," Gregory said. "That's what was killing us in the early games, too many easy layups for other teams. We didn't allow those today." Brabenec was pleased with his team's defensive effort, especially the play of Newton, a 5-foot-10 guard. "I was happy with I saw tonight," Brabenec said. "We knew we had to do a better job of stopping dribble penetration. We're going to have to keep playing like we did tonight." The Middies' large lead allowed Brabenec to give his bench extended playing time in the fourth quarter. No one took advantage it quite like guard Herman Plas. In his first varsity action, Plas, a 6-3 sophomore, scored 10 fourth-quarter points. "I was shocked and surprised when they called my number to go in the game," Plas said. "It felt good to get a chance out there. When I started scoring my adrenaline started pumping and I felt good. I was just running down the court and I had open looks and open lanes." Now the Middies need to find a way to build off the momentum of their first win with another two-week break in the schedule over the Christmas and New Year's holidays. "We're going to keep practicing and coming in and doing what we've done all year," Brabenec said. "We've been working hard and if we can get a game over the next two weeks that'll be great, if not we'll get ready for Olmsted Falls on Jan. 5." Contact Todd Shapiro at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Midview 78, North Olmsted 34 North Olmsted (34): Kevin Olah 1-0-2, Michael Meyer 1-1-3, Mario Koch 1-0-2, Xavier Balson 1-0-2, Izaiah Badat 1-0-2, Davonte Demianov 5-2-14, Miles Ciulla 1-0-3, Jacob Tepper 3-0-6. Totals 14-3-34.Midview (78): Bryce Newton 6-0-14, Nyco Vidal 5-3-15, Tyler Dawson 4-0-9, Aden Gregory 7-0-15, K.J. Moye 1-0-2, Ryan Runser 1-0-3, Marc Reed 1-0-2, Herman Plas 4-0-10, Ben DeSimone 1-2-5, Mitchell Gooch 1-0-3. Totals 31-5-78. North Olmsted&emsp;&emsp;5&emsp;&emsp; 5&emsp;&emsp;12&emsp;&emsp;12&emsp;&emsp;—&emsp;&emsp;34Midview&emsp;&emsp; 16&emsp;&emsp;19&emsp;&emsp;28&emsp;&emsp;15&emsp;&emsp;—&emsp;&emsp;78 Three-point goals: North Olmsted (Demainov 2, Ciulla), Midview (Newton 2, Vidal 2, Plas 2, Dawson, Gregory, Runser, DeSimone, Gooch). Field goals: North Olmsted 14-43 (32 percent), Midview 31-62 (50 percent). Free throws: North Olmsted 3-5 (60 percent), Midview 5-9 (56 percent). Rebounds: North Olmsted 28, Midview 35. Turnovers: North Olmsted 22, Midview 9. Total fouls: North Olmsted 8, Midview 8. Technical foul: MeyerJunior varsity: North Olmsted, 51-48