BERLIN, Ohio—With Day One of the 13th annual Classic in the Country in the rear view mirror attention shifted to games 8 – 13 of the 20 contests making up the three day event. Eight new teams joined the party Sunday with Archbishop Alter, Chippewa, Mason and Wadsworth who had all taken the floor Saturday as well. The fans, college coaches, media and evaluators were out in force once again taking in all the action on a weekend focused on basketball as well as the legacies and memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coach Perry Reese Jr.
Blue Star Media is in Berlin from the first tip off to the final buzzer Monday. Here’s a look back at Sunday’s games and results. For a look at the day one action follow the link below.
http://www.bluestarmedia.org/classic-country-day-one/
NORTH CANTON HOOVER 45 – BEAVERCREEK 30
Day two got underway with two established and successful Division I programs facing off. North Canton Hoover opened with a 14 – 10 first quarter and extended the lead by five in a low scoring second to hold 22 – 13 edge at half. The Vikings inched the lead out four more in the third and two more in the fourth for the final 15 point difference and the win. Beavercreek couldn’t find the range from the outset shooting just 20 percent from the floor as a team in the first half and ultimately only 27.5 percent for the game. Hoover junior Maddie Blyer was ultra-impressive with her sharp ball skills, instincts and command of the floor. The 5-5 point guard finished with 19 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Beavercreek had nobody in double figures but got 9 points from sophomore forward Lexi Moore and 8 more from classmate Cori Dilsavor, a 5-5 guard.
ARCHBISHOP ALTER 47 – CHIPPEWA 39
A battle of top ranked programs took the floor for the day’s second game with top ranked D-II Archbishop Alter facing D-III number one Doylestown Chippewa. Alter led 14 – 7 after one but the Chipps came back with a 17 – 14 second period to narrow the gap to 28 – 24 at the break. The Knights added three more to their lead in the third and one more in the fourth for a hard fought 47 – 39 win. Chippewa’s 19 turnovers for the game were hard to overcome as Alter capitalized on their mistakes to the tune of 19 points. In turn Alter turned it over just 7 times for just 3 Chippewa points. In the win the Knights shot only 27.6 percent as a team while the Chips connected at 38.1 percent. Junior Libby Bazelak paced Alter again in the win with the senior guard posting 17 points while classmate Braxtin Miller added 14 points along with 9 boards. Junior wing Taylor Richards was the only one to hit double figures for Chippewa contributing 15 points on 6 of 12 shooting in the losing cause.
LAKOTA WEST 58 – PICKERINGTON CENTRAL 48
A high profile matchup between the talented rosters of Lakota West and Pickerington Central was on stage for the day’s third game. The defending state champs jumped out quickly holding a 17 – 8 lead after the first period. They extended the lead five more in the second to hold a 32 – 19 at the half. Pickerington wasn’t about to roll over but could only manage to cut three points off the lead in the final two periods before falling 58 – 48. Pickerington outshot the Firebirds 45.7 percent to 36.8 but got clubbed on the boards by 14 while giving up 21 offensive rebounds to Lakota West in the process. Senior guard Nia Staples led the way in the win with 18 while fellow senior Danielle Wells added a double – double of 13 points and 12 boards. Maliya Perry, a 2019 wing, paced the Tigers with 11 points and 9 rebounds. Promising freshman point guard Madison Greene added 10 in the loss along with 4 assists but also had 5 turnovers along the way.
SOLON 67 – REYNOLDSBURG 48
The Solon – Reynoldsburg match-up lost some of its spotlight with sophomore post Valencia Myers sidelined with a boot on her foot. It may well have been addition by subtraction as the Comets still rolled to a 19 point win outscoring the Raiders in all four quarters. Reynoldsburg struggled from the floor finishing a combined 16 for 54 from the floor while committing 23 turnovers. Solon had 20 miscues of their own but they were able to convert their opportunities into 29 points while the Raiders capitalized to the tune of only 16. Junior Solon guard Dee Bekelja had one of the events top performances with a 30 point, 18 rebound, 4 assist effort. Senior teammate Jordan Joseph had 14 points of her own as well as 7 boards. Reynoldsburg had two in double digits. Junior Brooklyn Pannell led the way with 12 and dynamic sophomore guard Adrian Crockwell added 10 more.
WAYNE 71 – SHAKER HEIGHTS 51
Huber Heights Wayne has been making plenty of noise thus far this season and unfortunately for Shaker Heights they continued to do so Sunday. A 21 – 9 first period was an indication of things to come as the Warriors had no trouble eventually posting a 71 – 51 win. Starting three freshmen and two sophomores, Wayne had three players in double figures and shot 46.2 percent from the floor while defensively holding Shaker Heights to 31.6 percent shooting. Freshman guard Destiny Bohanon had 18 points while high profile sophomore forward Shai McGruder contributed a double – double of 17 points and 16 boards. Fellow sophomore Maya Dunson added 15 more. The Raiders had two in double figures. Senior guard Nailah Mitchell had 16 while athletic sophomore forward Jamir Huston produced an impressive double – double of 12 and 10.
MASON 41 – WADSWORTH 30
A promising nightcap between Mason and Wadsworth was slow to develop…especially for the Grizzlies who could manage just six points in the first half on a whopping 2 for 21 shooting effort. Mason capitalized, but just barely producing just 19 points of their own before the end of the half. The Comets extended their lead at one point to 20 before Wadsworth found their stride down the stretch cutting the difference to seven with just under two minutes to play. They would get no closer with the final margin standing at 41 – 30. Wadsworth “warmed” up to shoot 27.5 percent for the game while Mason came home at 44.1. Senior Comet forward Lauren Van Kleunen had 18 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 6 for 7 from the floor. Guard Jailyn Mason, another senior, added 12 more along with 6 assists. Junior Jodi Johnson had 11 for Wadsworth while sophomore Peyton Banks chipped in 10 more. Sophomore point guard Sophia Fortner struggled from the floor at 1 for 8 but added 5 rebounds and 2 assists to the cause.
