Boys basketball: Ball bounces Amherst's way in win over North Olmsted

EATON TWP. — All Amherst could do was stand and watch as its fate was decided Wednesday at the 24th Annual DiFranco Memorial Classic at Midview High School. The Comets took a two-point lead after freshman Jack Coleman scored the last two of his team-high 17 points with eight seconds left to play. After several fouls and a timeout, the Eagles' Juelz Santiago was fouled while shooting a 3-pointer with no time on the clock. Santiago missed the first attempt but made the second, giving North Olmsted a chance to send the game to overtime. Amherst coach Pat Bray called timeout to ice Santiago and after his final shot took four bounces on the rim, ice formed over the basket and the ball fell off to give the Comets a memorable 51-50 win to start the season. "If we hold teams to 50 every night, I love that, but we also can't score 51, we have to get better on offense," Bray said. "A win is a win, it's the old cliche. There's no pretty loss." After Coleman's basket gave the Comets the lead, they fouled the Eagles three times to keep them from shooting until there were 2.3 seconds left with no fouls to give. Santiago was finally able to get off a shot before the foul that left the whole gym hanging until the ball finally hit the floor. While the Comets shared the love in the scorebook with nine players scoring, North Olmsted's Dylon Susan and Naoki Sato carried the load for the Eagles. Susan had it going from behind the 3-point line, hitting seven, for 21 points while Sato diced up Amherst with cuts to the basket on the way to 12 points. "I'm really proud of our guys sticking to the game plan after only 17 practices together," said North Olmsted coach Matt Joseph, a former Midview assistant. "Everybody here is so welcoming, they didn't call me a traitor, they welcomed me with open arms and it's a testament to what this tournament is all about." Amherst trailed 46-44 after Susan drained his final three early in the fourth quarter. The Comets came back thanks to a David Dudziak 3-pointer and four straight points from Coleman, playing in his first varsity game. "I really wasn't expecting this, my teammates were great getting me the ball," Coleman said. "There were some butterflies at the start, but they went away pretty quickly. I've never experienced a finish like that ever before." Coleman had plenty of help. Stanley Robinson scored eight points, while Brady Engle and Dudziak each had seven and Ashton Draga six. "He's a freshman and there wasn't one time that he looked rattled," Bray said of Coleman. "He has a great demeanor and he's just a great basketball player." Contact James Brady at (440) 329-7135 or jbrady_ct@yahoo.com. Amherst 51, North Olmsted 50 NORTH OLMSTED (50): Dylon Susan 7-0-21, Julez Santiago 2-1-6, Michael Passafume 1-0-2, Naoki Sato 5-2-12, Dennis Jefferies 0-0-0, Matthew Bloomfield 2-1-5, AJ Ryant 0-0-0, Donovan Martin 2-0-4. Totals 19-4-50. AMHERST (51): David Dudziak 3-0-7, Ashton Draga 2-2-6, Stanley Robinson 3-0-8, Brady Engle 3-0-7, Tristyn Young 0-1-1, Andrew Balicki 0-0-0, Eli Solak 0-1-1, Gavin Beckler 0-1-1, Mason Lymer 1-0-3, Jack Coleman 8-1-17. Totals 0-0-0. North Olmsted&emsp;8&emsp;16&emsp;19&emsp; 7&emsp;—&emsp;50Amherst &emsp;13&emsp;14&emsp;15&emsp; 9&emsp;—&emsp;51 Three-point goals: North Olmsted 8-20 (40 percent, Susan 7, Santiago), Amherst 5-15 (33 percent, Robinson 2, Dudziak, Engle, Lymer); Field goals: North Olmsted 19-46 (41 percent); Amherst 20-49 (41 percent); Free throws: North Olmsted 4-8 (50 percent); Amherst 6-13 (46 percent); Rebounds: North Olmsted 24, Amherst 31; Turnovers: North Olmsted 15, Amherst 15