Boys Basketball: North Ridgeville shakes off slow start, runs past Avon

AVON — For the first seven minutes against North Ridgeville, Avon could do no wrong. Maybe it was Cole Miller's 3-point shot, or maybe it was the first-quarter break, but whatever clicked for the Rangers clicked big as they scored the next 22 points and took control for a 60-49 Southwestern Conference win Tuesday evening. "We got punched in the mouth early," North Ridgeville coach Ben Chase said. "We just didn't guard that well and we were a little timid offensively. The whole game plan was you have to go at them. They are going to be physical, so you have to withstand their physicality. "We started getting some stops, which leads to transition, which leads to some confidence. That second quarter was as good a quarter I've seen this group play all year." Avon (9-4, 4-4) dominated the first quarter, shooting 8-of-14 from the field and scoring 16 straight points to take a 16-2 lead. Brooks Good went on a personal 6-0 run, during which he grabbed three rebounds. He finished with 17 points and seven rebounds, both team highs, and was ultimately the only Avon player to finish with more than six points. "We were ready to go, but then they kind of kicked us in the chin a bit and we backed down," Avon coach Mike Fitch said. "They obviously wanted this game more." Miller ended the drought with a 3-pointer for North Ridgeville (8-5, 4-4) with 1:10 left, and from that point on whatever the Eagles had going for them wore off. Avon went the next 7:05 without scoring while the Rangers strung together 22 unanswered. After starting just 1-of-7 from the field in the first 6:50, North Ridgeville shot 12-of-15 for the rest of the first half. Junior guard Luke Rowe started 0-for-2 from the field but finished with a game-high 24 points, missing just one shot in the second quarter. "The last time we played Avon we came out really slow and really soft," Rowe said. "We wanted to push that intensity tonight. I think we can beat anyone if we just start strong and play how we usually can play. We came out with a whole bunch of defensive intensity in the second quarter." He was hardly alone, Mason Allison shot 7-of-8 from the field, all coming inside the paint, as he added 14 points and a team-high six rebounds. Junior Colton Mack also reached double figures with 10 points, connecting on both of his 3-point attempts. Avon cut the deficit to six points twice in the third quarter, but North Ridgeville responded with a 16-7 run that extended its lead to 49-34 with 3:34 left. While Avon made things interesting by scoring six straight to get back within single digits and ultimately cut the deficit to 54-47 with less than a minute left, North Ridgeville kept the Eagles at bay by executing down the stretch. "We were so soft against them three weeks ago," Chase said. "That was not a soft group tonight. That was a really mentally tough group, especially after getting punched in the mouth in the first quarter. They have to understand that if they play like that, they can beat anybody on the schedule. I'm really proud of them." Contact Chris Sweeney at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X. North Ridgeville 60, Avon 49 NORTH RIDGEVILLE (60): Duke Baker 1-0-3, Luke Rowe 9-2-24, Mason Allison 7-0-14, Cole Miller 1-0-3, Colton Mack 3-2-10, Hayden Stephanchik 1-0-2, Jaxon Compton 2-0-4. Totals 24-4-60. AVON (49): Gavyn Kettelberger 2-2-6, Dean Abdul 1-3-5, Joey Ziegler 3-0-6, Brooks Good 8-1-18, Sam Griffiths 1-0-2, Caden Clapham 1-0-2, Trevor Sykora 3-0-6, Caden Krugman 1-0-2, Shane Carty 1-0-2, Preston Johnson 0-0-0, Luke Fox 0-0-0. Totals 21-6-49. North Ridgeville&emsp;5&emsp;26&emsp;12&emsp;17&emsp;—&emsp;60 Avon&emsp;16&emsp;7&emsp;8&emsp;18&emsp;—&emsp;49 Three-point goals: North Ridgeville 8-14 (Rowe 4, Mack 2, Baker, Miller), Avon 1-7 (Good). Field goals: North Ridgeville 24-41 (59 percent), Avon 21-49 (43 percent). Free throws: North Ridgeville 4-5 (80 percent), Avon 6-12 (50 percent). Rebounds: North Ridgeville 16 (Allison 6), Avon 21 (Good 7). Total fouls: North Ridgeville 16, Avon 14. Fouled out: Miller. Turnovers: North Ridgeville 14, Avon 9. Junior varsity: Avon, 48-24.