BRECKSVILLE, Ohio — Despite only making one field goal in the first quarter and trailing by as much as 14, Maple Heights rallied behind its defense and free-throw shooting to knock off Brecksville, 64-63, on Tuesday.
The Mustangs (13-3), ranked No. 12 in the cleveland.com Top 25, gave up the first nine points to No. 24 Brecksville (13-4) and trailed by 13 after the first quarter.
But they rallied with the help of 20 takeaways and a great night at the free-throw line. Maple Heights went 20-for-24 from the line.
“We literally could not hit a shot in the first quarter,” Maple Heights coach Eric Schmidt said. “Usually, we’re about 60 percent (from the line).”
Keyshawn Ford’s two free throws late gave Maple Heights a 64-60 lead. Brecksville’s Matt Dimitrijevs, who had a game-high 26 points, hit a 3-pointer to make it a 1-point game. Without timeouts, Brecksville did not get the ball back as Maple Heights inbounded and ran out the final seconds.
Tyree Harris led Maple Heights with 17 points and Fonse Hale added 16. The duo combined for 16 of Maple Heights’ 20 fourth-quarter points.
“We preach when we’re down, we don’t get worried. We’ve just got to get stops and buckets,” Hale said. “That’s all it’s about and that’s what we locked in on.”
Fonse Hale with the steal and the score for Maple Heights. #neovarsity pic.twitter.com/hUfVYI7JSR
— Tim Bielik (@bielik_tim) February 8, 2017
Maple Heights trailed by just four after three quarters. After a Harris basket cut the deficit to two, Hale’s 3-pointer with 5:43 left gave the Mustangs their first lead of the game at 50-49.
“I took both of those guys out early in the third quarter. They weren’t real happy at first,” Schmidt said. “I said, ‘Listen. I’d rather you sit now and have you for the end of the game.’
“I think deep down, they realized that that was the right move because I had them at the end of the game when we needed them most, fresh legs and be ready to go.”
The Mustangs hit their first 11 free throws to keep from getting too far behind Brecksville.
“It’s always just about staying locked in into the process and it’s a ballgame. They’re a great team, so we’ve just got to hit free throws when they’re needed. I think that’s what we did tonight,” Hale said.
The Bees never trailed until Hale’s big 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter. They had won six of their last seven prior to Tuesday night.
“We can’t give the ball to the other team,” Brecksville coach Steve Mehalik said. “Our guys know it. We’re getting better with it. We’re not where we’re going to be three weeks from now. We’ve got a lot of improvement to do.”
Ford had 12 points for Maple Heights and was a perfect 8-for-8 from the line.
Both teams go back into conference action on Friday when Maple Heights travels to face Cleveland Heights, and Brecksville hosts rival North Royalton.
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
