by Don DiFrancesco
@MayorNEOPrep
BEREA, OHIO– North Ridgeville’s outstanding senior guard M. J. Smith scored 28 points in Berea on Tuesday evening…and the Rangers needed all of them. Berea-Midpark, after trailing by 13 at halftime, came up with a 45-point second half and nearly pulled out a win. The Titans’ Dwayne Holland led the comeback charge with 10 of his team-high 18 points in fourth quarter. But North Ridgeville had just enough in the tank to edge the Titans 70-68.
Berea-Midpark started out well. A 3-pointer at the buzzer by sophomore guard Jordan Cupach gave the Titans a 16-9 lead after one quarter. But the second quarter turned out to be a bonanza for North Ridgeville. The Rangers forced seven turnovers, and outscored the Titans 27-7 on the strength of 12 points in the period from junior guard Jeremy Sanchez.
North Ridgeville found scoring to be a little tougher in the second half, and Berea-Midpark gradually got closer as the game progressed. The Titans drew within three points on three occasions in the game’s final minute, keeping the fans for both sides on the edge of their seats. But a free throw by Sanchez with seven seconds to play gave the Rangers a four-point lead. An uncontested layup for Berea-Midpark at the final buzzer closed the margin to two points—the closest the Titans had been since early in the second quarter.
In addition to Smith’s 28 points, North Ridgeville had double-figure scoring from Sanchez with 17, and Scoti Millgard with 10. The Rangers sank 18 out of 22 free throws (82 percent).
Berea-Midpark was paced by Holland’s 18 and senior forward Angelo Svigelj-Smith’s 14 points. The Titans outrebounded the Rangers by a 30-24 count.
North Ridgeville
Smith 7-11-28
Sanchez 6-3-17
Millgard 3-2-10
Perkins 3-2-8
Payne 2-0-4
Richmond 1-0-3
Berea-Midpark
Holland 8-2-18
Svigelj-Smith 6-1-14
Cupach 3-0-9
Siggers 3-1-9
Bycznski 3-2-8
Levesque 2-0-4
Comer 2-0-4
Vega 1-0-2
| North Ridgeville | 9 | 27 | 18 | 16 | 70 |
| Berea-Midpark (home) | 16 | 7 | 21 | 24 | 68 |
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