High school basketball: Avon boys recover, lock down North Ridgeville for SWC win

AVON — Avon battled through adversity in the first half, overcoming two blown leads before locking things down defensively and converting late free throws in the fourth quarter to squeak out a 70-66 win over North Ridgeville in Southwestern Conference action Friday. Mike Matlak converted both free throws with 1:17 left to push the Eagles (5-1, 4-0 SWC) ahead 67-66. He came through again with 47.7 seconds left, hitting just one free throw to extend the lead to 68-66. The performance was a welcome turnaround for Matlak, who had struggled down the stretch from the free throw line, converting only four shots on six attempts. "Originally Dom (Rini) was at the line, and I let that slide because he's a little bit better of a free-throw shooter than me, but then they made me shoot," Matlak said. "I had to clutch up and make both of them and then split the other ones which definitely helped us." "Mike kind of struggled in those middle quarters. Some guys struggle in the middle quarters but, hey, that's over. Turn the page, and that's over," Avon coach Mike Fitch said. "He knows to turn the page and keep playing." Avon not only used the free-throw line to its advantage in the waning minutes, but also throughout the game. Rini attacked the rim continuously for the Eagles, hitting seven of 10 free throws on his way to 21 points. Niko Pappas also attempted five free throws. "I have the mentality to take it in on anyone because I think I can beat anyone to the hoop." Rini said. Despite only playing six games, the Eagles feel like they're clicking offensively, with some kinks to work out defensively. "Right now, what we've got going for us is our penetration and cutting to the basket and getting guys open. When we do that, high success will follow," Matlak said. "Our defense isn't the best; we get beat to the middle every single time," Fitch said. "We've got to keep working on our defensive fundamentals in the half court. We work a lot on transition defense, but our defense in the half court has got to improve a lot." North Ridgeville struggled holding onto the ball with 22 turnovers. But whenever they maintained control, they thrived. The Rangers came out of the gate sluggish, going down 9-2 only two minutes into the game, but quickly crawled back in. Trailing 35-24, they rallied to take a one-point lead at halftime. With two weeks off due to quarantine restrictions, the Eagles feel as if they've taken a hard reset in the young season. They are 2-0 since returning, with a win earlier this week against North Olmsted in conference action. "I think all of us as a group could have taken a two-week break," Rini said. "It was unfortunate to go into a two-week quarantine, but it honestly helped us out a lot." Avon 70, North Ridgeville 66NORTH RIDGEVILLE (66): Bryce Neumann 2-0-4, Nate Theus 9-1-24, Jake Boynar 0-2-2, Caden Masterson 1-0-2, Dom Farago 7-2-16, RJ Schneider 1-2-4, Noah Grendzynski 4-0-11, Colin McIntyre 1-0-3. Totals 25-7-66.AVON (70): Colin Ladegaard 2-0-4, Mike Matlak 6-5-17, Dom Rini 6-7-21, Niko Pappas 5-3-13, Connor Allomong 1-1-4, Ben Rehner 1-0-2, Matt Fischer 3-2-9. Totals 24-18-70.North Ridgeville&emsp;&emsp;19 18 12 17 — 66Avon 20 16 13 21 — 70Three-point goals: North Ridgeville 9-21, Avon 4-11. Field goals: North Ridgeville 25-57 (44 percent), Avon 24-52 (46 percent). Free throws: North Ridgeville 7-12 (58 percent), Avon 18-29 (62 percent). Rebounds:North Ridgeville 33 (Masterson 11), Avon 25 (Matlak 6). Total fouls: North Ridgeville 19, Avon 16. Turnovers: North Ridgeville 22, Avon 15.Junior varsity: Avon, 55-45