GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio — With a little less than four minutes to play and his team giving top-ranked Garfield Heights a game, Strongsville coach Joe Lynch turned to no one in particular and said, "If nothing else, we're gonna make them work for it." The Mustangs did just that Friday but when it came time to go to work,...
GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio — With a little less than four minutes to play and his team giving top-ranked Garfield Heights a game, Strongsville coach Joe Lynch turned to no one in particular and said, "If nothing else, we're gonna make them work for it."
The Mustangs did just that Friday but when it came time to go to work, the host Bulldogs punched the time clock.
Pulling away over the final three minutes, Garfield Heights remained undefeated and did nothing to tarnish its status as the top-ranked team in The Plain Dealer Top 25 with a 60-51 victory in a Northeast Ohio Conference Valley Division game.
"We played sloppy," said Garfield Heights coach Sonny Johnson, whose team improved to 12-0 overall and 5-0 in league play and is ranked 10th in this week's Division I state poll. "I told the kids afterward that if they think they'll be able to beat St. Edward by playing like that they were wrong."
St. Edward, ranked third in The Plain Dealer, plays at Garfield Heights on Thursday, Feb. 3.
The mark of a good team is that more than one or two players are capable of making a difference and the Bulldogs proved that Friday. While all-Ohio guard Trey Lewis led everyone with 24 points and 6-6 sophomore Tony Farmer had 16 points, 13 rebounds and two blocked shots, it was junior Mike Davis who was in the right place at the right time.
The 6-1 Davis, one of a many players to come off Garfield Heights' bench, scored six of the Bulldogs' final seven points as they turned a 52-47 lead with 3:12 to play into a nine-point victory. Despite not starting, Davis is the team's third-leading scorer behind Lewis (Penn State) and Farmer (watched by Michigan on Friday).
"Mike can be explosive," Johnson said of Davis, who is averaging 15 points. "We count on him to use his athleticism to make plays, and he made a lot tonight."
Strongsville, whose woes at the free-throw line continued with a 9-of-19 performance, were led by Iowa recruit Aaron White, who finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds. Guard Gurjeet Gill scored 17 points, but only six in the second half, and Iowa football recruit Ray Hamilton had nine points -- six in the fourth quarter -- and 13 rebounds.
Strongsville, which has to be the best 6-5 team around, was in the game until the final three minutes. The Mustangs, ranked 18th in The Plain Dealer, led until midway through the third quarter when Garfield Heights went on a 9-2 spurt.
Garfield Heights led, 45-43, entering the final eight minutes and Farmer canned a long 3-pointer and Lewis followed with a layup off a Farmer steal.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:trogers@plaind.com, 216-999-5169
Source: http://highschoolsports.cleveland.com/news/article/3388666054756561598
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