Boys Basketball: North Ridgeville rolls over Maple Heights for second big win in as many nights

NORTH RIDGEVILLE — Coach Ben Chase talks a lot about playing to the "standard" of what the North Ridgeville basketball program is all about. Sharing the ball, playing through their concepts and playing aggressive defensive are all high on the list. It's safe to say the standard was met Wednesday night in an 80-51 non-conference victory over Maple Heights (3-17). The victory followed a 77-50 non-league win Tuesday over Holy Name. Senior guard Duke Baker led six Rangers (13-8) in double figures with 16 points, as junior Colton Mack had 14 and sophomore Mason Allison 11 to go along with junior Luke Rowe, senior Cole Miller and freshman Hayen Stephanchick all with 10 points. North Ridgeville took control early with pressure defense and a blistering 10-for-12 shooting start to grab a 23-6 lead after one quarter. A Mack 3-pointer led to a 10-2 lead and a Maple Heights timeout at the 4:33 mark. An Allison 3-pointer and then a dunk ballooned the lead to 23-4. Mixing a diamond press and a 1-2-2 halfcourt trap, North Ridgeville forced seven first-quarter turnovers and 3-for-13 shooting. A Baker "and one" in transition off a nice assist from Miller and a great catch off an inbounds play lob and score by the 6-foot-5 Miller led to a commanding 50-19 lead at the break. "The first half was really, really good, we played everybody in the first half," Chase said. "That was exactly what we wanted to do, especially in a back-to-back. We haven't had a back-to-back this year, so I'm really proud of the effort in the first half." The second half saw more even play, as both teams continued to compete and play hard. Seniors Lorenzo Roach and Tristan Coles led Maple Heights with 15 and 14 points, respectively. North Ridgeville played through its concepts and made the right basketball play consistently all night. "That's the best part of playing conceptually," Chase said. "You don't change for anybody. You're not reinventing the wheel for anybody, you just focus on specific niches in your game and your offensive flow and what you can exploit." Baker is a prime example of the Rangers' attack, as he was able to make plays for himself and others. "It felt good to play like that," Baker said. "We just played Holy Name yesterday so we were a little tired coming out, but once we started to get going, we were flowing. Our press looked good, we were hitting shots, we were in that zone." With one more game in the regular season left, Baker and his teammates are looking to peak and play their best come tournament time. Last season the Rangers made a run to a Division II regional. "Having experience from that tournament definitely is going to help," he said. "Last year, in the first game we were pretty nervous. We never really experienced that playoff feeling for the first time, it was all of our first times. But now going into this year and having that experience, it's going to help us out. Me, Luke, Cole Miller ... we just gotta lead our guys that have never been there before." But first is a visit from Olmsted Falls on Friday night in the league and season finale. "Two games in a row we played to our standard," Chase said. "Can we get that against a conference team, the last game of the year on our home floor when they're playing for a lot." North Ridgeville 80, Maple Heights 51 Maple Heights 6 13 16 16 — 51 North Ridgeville 23 27 17 13 — 80 MAPLE HEIGHTS (51): Mike Banks 4-0-10, Caden Moore 2-0-4, Marlon Brown 2-0-4, Tristan Coles 5-3-14, Lorenzo Roach 6-0-15, Braylen Jones 1-0-2, Justin Mackenzie 1-0-2. Totals 21-3-51 NORTH RIDGEVILLE (80): Duke Baker 6-3-16, Luke Rowe 5-0-10, Mason Allison 4-2-11, Hayden Stephanchik 4-0-10, Cole Miller 5-0-10, Colton Mack 5-2-14, Jaxon Compton 2-0-4, Camden Troyer 1-0-3, Gus Dutta 1-0-2. Totals 33-7-80 Three Point Goals: North Ridgeville 7 (Stephanchick 2, Mack 2, Baker 1, M. Allison 1, Troyer 1) Maple Heights 6 (Roach 3, Banks 2, Coles 1) Field Goals: North Ridgeville 33-57 (58 percent), Maple Heights 21-59 (36 percent) Free Throws: North Ridgeville 7-10, Maple Heights 3-6. Rebounds: North Ridgeville 25, Maple Heights 25 Turnovers: North Ridgeville 16, Maple Heights 17 Team Fouls: North Ridgeville 7, Maple Heights 6.