Boys basketball: Lake Ridge gets a win at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse

CLEVELAND — The Lake Effect Conference blew into Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse for a Sunday boys basketball matinee. Jose Gomez promptly brought the thunder down on Medina Christian Academy. The senior guard scored nine of his game-high 19 points in the fourth quarter and collected six rebounds, five assists and four steals in leading Lake Ridge Academy to a 51-41 victory over the Knights. Gomez sprained his right ankle less than 48 hours earlier against Elyria Open Door, but nothing was going to stop him from playing on the home court of an NBA team for the initial time. "You don't get to play on the Cavaliers' court every day, so I had to be out there," Gomez said, limping and in visible discomfort after the game. "This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I truly appreciate it." Senior forward Jake Kolbay also rose to the occasion, sinking a pair of 3-pointers to start the fourth for the Royals. He finished with 17 points, making 6 of 8 field goals and 5 of 7 tries beyond the arc. Lake Ridge (8-7, 4-1) outscored the Knights (6-6, 3-1) in the final period by a 20-11 margin. Gomez and Kolbay combined for 15 of them, sinking 5 of 6 shots in knocking Medina Christian out of a first-place tie in the league. "They really wanted this one and you could tell by the way they played," Royals coach Alan George said. "Jose and Jake have missed a lot of the season with injuries, so we're happy to have them both back and playing well." Center Aaron Manning added four points and five rebounds, guard Ryan Pawloski had three points, eight rebounds and four assists, and fellow senior Sam Calcut had two points and eight boards for Lake Ridge. Manning's layup to end the third quarter put the Royals ahead for good at 31-30. It was the eighth and final lead change of the afternoon. Adding to Gomez's special day, his Nicaraguan-based parents were in attendance. "We thought we could win, but didn't want to get too confident coming in," he said. "Coach told us the most important thing was to go have fun. We definitely did." Junior guard Isaac Radke posted six points, seven rebounds and seven assists for Medina Christian, which will be eligible for the OHSAA Tournament next season. Junior forward Seth Vanderlaan scored a team-best nine points on three 3-pointers. The Knights shot a woeful 21.0 percent, attempting 44 of their 62 field goals beyond the arc. An 8-0 run midway through the fourth by Lake Ridge, capped by Pawloski's 3-pointer, ended Medina Christian's perfect record in the LEC. "We needed to do the little things at the end, and we didn't," Radke said. "The best part of this experience is we were all living in the moment, enjoying ourselves and appreciating everything we had to be thankful for." Contact Brian Dulik at brisports@hotmail.com. Follow him @BrianDulik on Twitter.