D-II District Boys Basketball: Start and finish doom Amherst in close loss to North Royalton

PARMA HTS. — They say it's not how you start, it's how you finish. Unfortunately for Amherst, a slow start and a fade down the stretch cost the Comets in a Division II district championship game Saturday night against North Royalton at a jam-packed Valley Forge High School. Amherst, playing in its first district title game since 2009, fell to the defending state semifinalist 56-49. In the middle quarters, the Comets picked up the physicality and outscored North Royston 32-23. But a slow start saw them down 14-1 at the 4:20 mark, forcing a Pat Bray timeout. Two threes and a layin from senior guard Antonio Escano aided in the early lead along with two baskets from burly 6-foot-1 senior Omar Suleiman. After the early timeout, the Comets were slowly able to settle in and compete. "We knew they were a physical team and we play physical," Bray said. "We let them split our double teams and get to the rim. Their first foul, they tackled us, that's what they do. And so that's what we talked about when it was 14-1 and we called that timeout and said we've got to get to that. Then the next thing you know, we started fighting and we came back and made it a ballgame. "Physicality is what we are known for and that's what we've got to make sure we do at all times. It's how we compete." The second quarter saw the Comets cut the lead to 26-21 on a three from junior Mason Lymer, before an answer by junior Lincoln Lee from North Royalton. Amherst and leading scorer Jack Coleman came to life in the third quarter. After being held to three first-half free throws, Coleman scored a basket to make it 30-27 and another from the sophomore made it 35-32. A Coleman corner three gave Amherst its first lead at 40-39 with 25 seconds left in the third, bringing its large contingent of fans to its feet. A score off a drop-off pass by Gavin Beckler made it 44-43 Amherst in the fourth quarter, but it was its last lead as North Royalton's 6-8 Nolan Klingbeil scored and then Lee made two timely baskets to make it 49-44 with 3:05 left. North Royalton held on late with ball control and free throws, and timely stops mixed in. The slow start and finish were tough to overcome, but Bray was proud of the fight in his team. "Don't get me wrong, we came back, we fought, we took that lead, so it was there," he said. "But sometimes you exert a lot of energy when you have to fight back like that, but these guys, it's what they've done all year. There's no die in these kids." Beckler was able to match up with Klingbeil inside. Klingbeil did finish with 15 points, including getting to the line eight times, but Beckler held his own with 10 big points inside. "He changes the game for us, and he changed the game tonight," Bray said. "We were able to bang with him and be able to guard him and make it basically at times four-on-four." Bray's proud of his team and the journey it went on this season, advancing to a district title game for the first time in 17 years and competing in the rugged Southwestern Conference. "They came to work from Day 1, every day we worked," Bray said. "We had that little lull in the middle of the season but it wasn't like we weren't working. At the beginning of the year we were winning close games. In the middle of the season we were losing close games, losing by five, four and three. "We just had to make shots and towards the end of the year we started getting back on that roll and you see it tonight." North Royalton will take on Riverside on Wednesday at Kent State University in a regional semifinal. North Royalton 56, Amherst 49 AMHERST (49): Jack Coleman 4-3-12, Cole Scanlon 1-0-2, David Dudziak 1-0-2, Stanley Robinson 2-0-5, Peyton Leibacher 0-0-0, Cy Christensen 0-0-0, Mason Lymer 2-4-9, Andrew Balicky 4-0-9, Gavin Beckler 5-0-10. Totals 19-7-49. NORTH ROYALTON (56): Sean Bunsey 1-0-2, Michael Discenza 0-0-0, Antonio Escano 5-1-14, Lincoln Lee 3-0-7, Nolan Klingbeil 5-5-15, Omar Suleiman 7-3-18, Dillon McCostlin 0-0-0. Totals 21-9-56. Amherst&emsp;8&emsp;15&emsp;17&emsp;9&emsp;—&emsp;49 North Royalton&emsp;18&emsp;12&emsp;11&emsp;15&emsp;—&emsp;56 Three-point goals: Amherst 4 (Coleman 1, Robinson 1, Lymer 1, Balicky 1), North Royalton 5 (Escano 3, Lee 1, Suleiman 1). Field goals: Amherst 19-47 (40 percent), North Royalton 21-45 (47 percent). Free throws: Amherst 7-10, North Royalton 9-15. Rebounds: North Royalton 28, Amherst 16. Turnovers: North Royalton 12, Amherst 10. Team fouls: Amherst 15, North Royalton 12.