ELYRIA — Open Door stayed with taller, faster Cleveland Central Catholic for a half Tuesday night. But the disparities began to show after the break and the Ironmen cruised, 67-50, in non-conference action.
It ended a six-game winning streak for Open Door (12-3). The Patriots hadn’t lost since they fell by two points in overtime to Horizon Science on Dec. 22. Their two previous losses were by a total of three points.
CCC (8-4) turned up the defensive heat in the third quarter. With relentless full-court pressure, the Ironmen forced 10 Open Door turnovers in the period. And they held the Patriots without a field goal in the fourth, although Open Door hit 14 of 16 foul shots the final eight minutes.
“We came a little unraveled there in the third period,” Open Door coach Jason Penley said. “We knew they’d be quick and we knew they’d be on us, and maybe our guys wore down a little bit. I don’t think we handled adversity and their trapping as well as we might have. But that’s a lot to ask. Our freshmen (Eric Mann, Michael Terry and Abe Valentine) were a little overwhelmed at times.
“This is the first time they’ve probably seen pressure like that, and I thought they did an OK job,” Penley said. “Did they do well enough to win? Obviously not. But they played hard … battled, but I just thought our young guys were a little overwhelmed.”
A big factor was the Ironmen demolished Open Door on the backboards, 48-29, which gave them second, third and fourth chances after missed shots at the offensive end. Of the 48 rebounds, 28 came after their own missed shots.
The Patriots fell behind 9-4, but fought back on three straight close-range baskets by Brendan McNabb to trail 17-13 after eight minutes. Open Door fell behind 24-18 midway through the second quarter, but caught up with a basket and two free throws by McNabb and Valentine’s 12-footer in the paint. The CCC margin was 28-26 at the half.
Then the Ironmen tightened the screws. Open Door managed only four field goals in 13 shots in the third quarter, one of them Jacob Dodd’s 3-pointer. And they put up that rash of turnovers. CCC corralled 13 rebounds in the period, 10 off the offensive board.
Open Door was 0-14 from the floor in the fourth quarter, but made 14 of 16 foul shots. In fact, the Patriots made 22 of 26 free throws for the game as Valentine made four straight without a miss, McNabb was 7-of-8 and Mann was 6-of-8, all in the second half.
“I think our guys got a little frustrated,” Penley said. “There was a point (early in the third quarter) when we were down one (30-29), had the ball and missed a couple of easy bunnies. It kind of took all the air out of us when we missed that opportunity.”
Indeed. The Ironmen then went on an 11-0 run and the Patriots never got closer than nine points.
Open Door’s McNabb scored a game-high 20 points, 15 in the first half, and Dodd finished with 11. Louis Hinson’s 15 points — all in the second half — led the Ironmen. Anton Grady scored 14 and Chall Montgomery 11.
CCC 67, Open Door 50
CCC (67): Evan Russell 0-2-2, Chall Montgomery 5-0-11, Derrick Bufford 1-0-2, Brandon Campbell 2-2-6, Tra’vaughn Moore 1-0-2, Louis Hinson 6-3-15, Earl Locklear III 2-0-6, Anton Grady 7-0-14, Demetrius Bennett 1-0-3, Daniel Freeman 3-0-6, Jeffrey Thomas 0-0-0. Totals 28-7-67.
OPEN DOOR (50): Eric Mann 0-6-6, Brendan McNabb 6-7-20, Michael Terry 2-0-4, Yonathan Samuel 0-1-1, Abe Valentine 2-4-8, Jacob Dodd 3-4-11, Peter Rader 0-0-0. Totals 13-22-50.
CCC  17 11 20 19 — 67
Open Door 13 13 10 14 — 50
Three-point goals: CCC 4-15 (Locklear 2, Bennett, Montgomery), Open Door 2-9 (McNabb, Dodd). Field goals: CCC 28-72 (38.9 percent), Open Door 13-47 (27.7 percent). Free throws: CCC 7-10, Open Door 22-26. Rebounds: CCC 48, Open Door 29. Turnovers: CCC 19, Open Door 22.
Junior varsity: CCC, 92-35.

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