BERLIN, Ohio—The 12th annual Classic in the Country honoring the legacies of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coach Perry Reese Jr. kicked off Saturday with the first of three days of competition. The yearly trek to Amish country in northeast Ohio is regarded as a must see and must do by college recruiters hoping to have success filling their rosters with residents of the Buckeye State. Seven games were on the schedule for day one and as usual the match ups and results were competitive from start to finish with an average margin of victory of just 6.5 points and four games decided by five or less. Blue Star Media will be on hand till the final horn and bring you additional results, insights and evaluations form one of the nation’s premier events.
Things got started with Crestview opening up a 20 – 16 halftime lead to a double digit margin while getting by Ironton 52 – 41. Junior forward Emily Bauer paced the Knights with 25 points that came on an impressive 10 for 14 effort from the floor. Senior guard Lindsey Motycka joined Bauer in double figures with 10. The Fighting Tigers got 15 from Virginia Tech commit Lexie Barrier in the loss. Barrier, a junior guard, also crossed the 1000 point mark for her career in the game.
Crestview outshot Ironton from the field 42.9 percent to a struggling 32.7. The win was aided as well by their 10 rebound margin on the glass. Ironton had just 10 turnovers to Crestview’s 17 but couldn’t overcome the icy shooting that also included a frosty 3 for 12 tally from three point distance.
Columbus Eastmoor used a 16 – 8 third period to take control of a tight contest with Revere and hold on for a 52 – 49 win in game two. Eastmoor held a two point lead after one but the teams went to the locker room with Revere claiming 26 – 23 margin. The telltale third got the Warriors the lead for good though the Minutemen would chop two off the total in the fourth to cut the final gap to three.
Amani Burke, a 5-9 junior guard, led the way in the win with 24 on 10 of 19 shooting. Fellow junior Rahnia Price added 10 more, all coming on some clutch free throw shooting down the stretch. Sophomore forward Viktoria Farian was 7 of 9 from the floor and paced Revere with 20 points. Farian, however, struggled at the line completing just 6 of 14 for the evening. The line proved to be the difference as Revere outscored Eastmoor 38 – 34 from the floor but could manage just 11 for 27 on freebies while Eastmoor collected 18 of 25 and the win. Making matters even more frustrating for Revere was the fact that they also won the battle on the boards 35 – 30.
Mt. Notre Dame held off an impressive young squad from Wadsworth in game four by a score of 45 – 40. The Cougars outscored the Grizzlies in the first three quarters taking a 34 – 23 lead into the final eight minutes. Wadsworth closed the gap with a 17 – 11 run that had the MND faithful nervous until the final horn.
Michigan signee Naomi Davenport had 15 before fouling out on a critical intentional foul with under a minute to play. Junior Jodi Johnson paced Wadsworth with 11. The Grizzlies also got some ultra-impressive backcourt play from 2018 point guard Sophia Fortner. Wadsworth won the rebound and turnover wars but shot 9 of 16 at the line while Mt. Notre Dame connected on 10 of 12.
West Holmes had three players in double figures in their 54 – 42 win over Kenton Ridge. The Knights jumped out to a 20 – 7 lead after one and though the Cougars closed the gap, held on for the solid 12 point win. Kenton Ridge did make it a two possession game several times but couldn’t overcome 31 percent shooting from the floor.
Junior Hannah Clark had 16 in the win while fellow junior Brittleigh Macaulay added 12 of her own and senior guard Alex Brown chipped in 11 more. Kenton Ridge’s cold shooting failed to get anyone in double figures for the game. Ultra athletic sophomore Jamari McDavid put up nine and gave some glimpses as to why folks better keep a close watch on her game. West Holmes outrebounded the Cougars by seven and forced 10 turnovers while giving it up just seven times themselves.
The day’s biggest match up featured two teams with their eyes set on the Division II State Tournament in Columbus coming in March. When all was said and done, Archbishop Alter and Rogers went to overtime before Alter could claim the 48 – 47 win. Both teams are talented and young with just three seniors on the Rogers roster and none on the Knights side of the book. The Rams led by one after the first period but Alter came back to hold the lead at half 23 – 22. The third and fourth proved nothing with ties at 35 and 43 before the overtime period. Both teams had plenty of opportunities but it was junior Maddie Bazelak who got the winning layup for Alter with just four seconds remaining.
Emma Bockrath continues her recovery from a spring knee injury and looked to be in form with 17 points on 6 of 14 shooting than included 2 for 6 from three point range. Bazelak added 12 more in the win. Rogers got 19 from junior Michigan commit Akienreh Johnson and 10 more from physical junior forward and Cincinnati verbal Sydney Petty. The two teams were separated by just one rebound and one turnover for the game but despite the win Alter could manage just 23 percent shooting as a team. They doubled up Rogers at the line completing 16 of 22 while the Rams got just 8 of their 16 attempts.
In a very low scoring but competitive game six, Newark survived Mason’s missed three at the buzzer for a 36 – 33 win. Both teams struggled from the floor with Newark shooting 30 percent on the night while the Comets could muster just 27.7 shooting. Things were tied at just 16 after two periods and Newark held a 24 – 20 edge entering the final quarter. Ironically Mason shot no freethrows in the entire game while Newark made three of their six attempts.
Indiana bound Kym Royster led the way for the Wildcats producing 17 points on 8 of 19 shooting. Fellow senior Ali Cartnal joined her in double figures with 13 of her own. Mason was paced by junior forward Lauren Van Kleunen’s eight points and nine boards. Jailyn Mason, another 2016, added seven and seven in the loss as well. Mason dominated the boards 43 -29 but had 16 turnovers to Newark’s nine.
The evening’s final game pitted David and Goliath with D-IV Berlin Hiland and D-I Reynoldsburg. The outcome Saturday was the same as the old biblical story as the Hawks grabbed the win 54 – 41. Hiland jumped out 15 – 5 but Reynoldsburg roared back to trail just 21 – 20 at half. Hiland added four to the lead in the third before stretching things to the final 13 point difference in the closing period.
Impressive freshman point guard Kennedy Schlabach had 15 for Hiland, 12 of which were the result of four for nine shooting from downtown. Seniors Megan Beachy and Rachel Horn added 14 and 11 respectively. Reynoldsburg got some moments from their own impressive freshman as 6-3 Jalynda Salley posted 13 points on 6 of 11 shooting.
