Win-loss records don't always tell the entire story about how a season is going for young athletic teams.
Game photos click here.
Win-loss records don’t always tell the entire story about how a season is going for young athletic teams.
The West Geauga Wolverines are having a fine basketball season so far this winter, paced by standout player Landon Lear.
The Harvey Red Raiders are talented, but don’t have that super player to rely on — until recent weeks, as they, too, work on building teamwork.
When the teams met Jan. 24 at Harvey High, the experience edge went to the Wolverines, who overtook the Red Raiders’ only lead of the night after the opening basket to claim a tough 82-68 Chagrin Valley Conference victory.
After Harvey’s Armani Hall found Chase Goines for a back-door layup in the first minute, West Geauga’s Lear found teammate Colin Whiting for a 3-pointer from the corner.
The game was close the entire way, but with only one senior coming off the bench, the Red Raiders never led again, and dropped to 2-12 on the season.
West Geauga seniors Lear and Whiting were aided by fellow seniors Shawn Leonard and Jason Renner, and played well within their skill sets as their team improved to 12-4 on the season.
A key to that success for Wolverines Head Coach Micah Young may have happened roughly three weeks earlier, a disappointing home loss to neighboring Chardon.
“That loss to Chardon really cut into us deeply,” Coach Young said. “That matchup is always a tough night, and we didn’t play nearly as well as we normally do. That loss helped us to refocus on what we’re doing, and we’ve played much better since then.
“Tonight our ball movement was much better, and we hit shots that we didn’t in that Chardon game. Our defense has been tighter, too. Tonight, we scored 82 points against some very good athletes, so I’m happy with how things are going again.”
As a player who can score in a hurry from anywhere on the court, Lear led the point parade with 23 in this game, but ball distribution also came into serious play as the Wolverines hit on 33 of 56 shots from the floor with 20 assists, seven of those by Lear.
Cooper Paskowski hit the nets for 22 points with five assists, Colin Whiting tallied 17 and four assists, and Finn Keenan hit for 10 points as well. Ryan Mobley and Renner each snared six rebounds as West Geauga’s defense kept the junior-loaded Red Raiders from gaining momentum.
“They always are loaded with speed and athletic ability, so slowing them down is important,” Lear said of the game plan against Harvey. “We knew if we could slow them down defensively, we could eventually break down their defenses and score on them, and tonight we had good balance and played with confidence, and that’s how it played out.
“It was important for us to put that Chardon game behind us because they are a natural rival we get up for, and we didn’t play well that night — but we have since then, and it’s going well for us.”
Deontae Ware has stepped up for Harvey lately, and had a big night in this game with 22 points. Armani Hall also tallied 22.
In the third period, Lear hit on all six shots he took, and the Wolverines hit on 11 of their 13 shots, to push their lead from 49-45 to 60-49, and the Red Raiders just did not have the energy to respond.
West Geauga’s experience edge is looking better and better as the season moves along toward tournament action.
