Coming off a 16-day layoff due to COVID, NDCL Boys Basketball Head Coach Nate Vander Sluis wanted to reward his team, and especially seniors, for battling through the season.
Coming off a 16-day layoff due to COVID, NDCL Boys Basketball Head Coach Nate Vander Sluis wanted to reward his team, and especially seniors, for battling through the season. The reward was five games in six days, including Senior Night against the Division I power University School.
Vander Sluis said, “We took a two-week break with three weeks left in the season, so I scheduled as many as I could get.
“It’s been a battle. Great way for our seniors to go out, have Senior Night, but play five games in six days with everything that has happened this year. I wanted to give them a chance to compete. Why have one more practice when we can get another game in?”
The Lions lost the Senior Night Showdown Saturday in McGarry Gymnasium, 62-51. The third game in as many nights had a similar result to the previous two games, a loss, Twinsburg (52-38) and Padua (47-43).
Senior Noah Coyne led the way for the Lions with 17 points, 15 of which came in the second half. Fellow senior Jaiden Mangelluzzi chipped in 13 points, while sharpshooter Noah Redmond added nine points on three 3-pointers. He led the Lions with 43 on the season.
Despite the loss, Mangelluzzi spoke about his late time playing in McGarry Gymnasium.
“Even though we lost, we’re still out here celebrating people making shots,” he said. “Doesn’t matter who is on the court. Everybody is unselfish and loves one another.”
NDCL, which is now 4-13 on the season, kept pace with the long, athletic Preppers, trailing 16-15 after the first quarter. But University would use an 11-0 run to start the second quarter and take control of the game. They outscored the Lions 20-4 in the quarter and took a 36-19 lead at halftime.
It was a slow start for the Lions — still trying to get their legs back after a two-week layoff and playing three games in a row.
“Little conditioning and a little bit of rust, a combination of those two things together,” said Vander Sluis. “Things we were finishing three weeks ago, we were making or finishing, tonight got bobbled or knocked out of bounce. It’s the little things. The play you thought you made turns into a basket at the other end, and you get that 4-5 point swing.”
University would outscore the Lions 11-4 to begin the third quarter, making the score 44-23 early in the third quarter. NDCL would be led by Coyne’s 15 points. The Lions outscored the Preppers 29-25 in the second half to keep the game within reach.
NDCL would cut into the University lead with a 13-3 run in the fourth quarter, and the game was within 10 at 55-45 with 4:05 left to play.
Coyne would then hit a 3-pointer about a minute later to make it 57-48. The Preppers, however, were unrelenting and held on to the victory: the third win in as many years against the Lions.
When asked about his second-half performance, Coyne said, “It’s been wild. That’s just one way to say it. It’s a burden in a way, but we’re confident we’re going to play these games.”
The Lions were playing North on Sunday in preparation for its first round playoff game.
The Preppers, eighth-seeded in Division I, capped off the regular season with a 13-4 record, including winning four of five games. They will begin postseason play taking on Akron North Feb. 14; the winner plays Green.
Vander Sluis acknowledged the talented University team.
“That’s a tough group, long athletes who can shoot the ball and finish at the rim. They did a nice job of answering our runs,” he said. “That’s a tough team. I wouldn’t be surprised if they make a run in the playoffs.”
University School is senior-laden with nine of them including Ricky Radtke, who led the way with 16 points. Fellow senior Faris Dahman had 14 points.
NDCL recognized Coyne, Mangelluzzi, Redmond and Parker Kajfasz on Senior Night with a traditional pre-game ceremony. The Lions begin postseason play with a 70-minute trip to Louisville for OHSAA Sectional Tournament action Feb. 23.
“We have great kids and tremendous parents who love and support all of the kids in our program,” Vander Sluis said. “Our senior kids and parents are top notch. Nothing better than having a group of kids and people that all want to see everyone else succeed.”
BILL FUGATE/KMG
Senior Jaiden Mangelluzzi drives during NDCL’s Senior Night, a night Mangelluzzi scored 13 points in a 62-51 loss to University. The Lions have been affected by COVID-19 with a more than two-week delay at the end of the season. They took on Louisville in a playoff game played after deadline Feb. 23.
