NORTH RIDGEVILLE —  There was one thing Bay coach Jason Frolo and North Ridgeville assistant coach Brian Nelson could agree on Friday night: Their teams’ West Shore Conference game was one ugly contest.
“A lot of teams hate to play us because we make them play ugly and play the way they don’t want to play due to our defense,” Frolo said. “We hold teams to some of their lowest point totals with our defense.”
And Friday night was no exception.
North Ridgeville (12-3, 9-1) was held to only six points in the fourth quarter, but it was just enough for the Rangers to pull out a 42-38 win.
The Rockets (6-10, 4-6) held the Rangers’ two offensive weapons, 6-foot-10 Drew McGhee and 6-5 Keene
Cockburn, to just nine and eight points for the night. Cockburn was held scoreless in the second half while McGhee scored only two points in the fourth quarter after a seven-point third.
North Ridgeville coach Bill Noggle was left speechless after yelling himself hoarse during the game. His assistant Nelson picked up the slack.
“A win is a win no matter how ugly it was,” Nelson said. “We knew they were a good team and (Frolo) really has them playing the man-to-man defense. I told the kids in the locker room afterward that there are times you have to be lucky along with being a good team. Tonight I think we got lucky. You never see a team go through the year without winning a couple of lucky games.”
The game started out as though North Ridgeville would have an easy time of it. The Rangers took a quick 7-0 lead. But Bay had other ideas.
Led by Pat McGlynn’s six points, the Rockets closed the deficit to 11-8 by the end of the first quarter.
The Rangers then went on a 15-9 run to open up a 26-17 lead at the half.
The third quarter was evenly matched as North Ridgeville took a 36-26 lead into the fourth.
It was the fourth quarter that almost cost the Rangers the game and the lead in the conference.
Between the seven fouls and five turnovers committed by North Ridgeville, Bay was able to cut the lead to 40-38 with
25 seconds left.
A North Ridgeville turnover on an errant pass that went to Bay’s offensive end provided the Rockets with an opportunity to tie or win the game.
But McGhee saved the day for the Rangers by tipping the inbounds pass. Will Mahaffey grabbed the loose ball and went the length of the court for a lay-in to ice the win with nine seconds to play.
“The frustrating thing right now is offensively,” Frolo said. “It’s been that way all season and was again tonight.”
Contact Ron Nenadal at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

North Ridgeville 42, Bay 38

NORTH RIDGEVILLE(42): Drew McGhee 4-1-9, Keene Cockburn 3-2-8, Adam Quinones 5-2-12, Will Mahaffey 2-1-5, Tim Ice 0-0-0, Dan Montgomery 2-0-5, Jeff Hammond 0-0-0, Matt Murphy 1-0-3, Nick Rogerson 0-0-0, Jacob Rigsby 0-0-0,Tim Ice 0-0-0, Jason Ice 0-0-0, Devan White 0-0-0, Ryan McNamara 0-0-0. Totals 17-6-42.
BAY(38): Pat McGlynn 8-4-20, Rick Banal 4-0-8, Adam Gorski 1-3-5, Tom Campbell 1-0-3, Ben Cullen 1-0-2, Kyle Banal 0-0-0, Andy Gross 0-0-0, Tyler Fordyce 0-0-0. Totals 15-7-38.
N. Ridgeville    11    15    10    6    —    42
Bay    8    9    9    12    —    38
Three-point goals: NR (2) Montgomery, Murphy. Bay: Campbell. Field Goals: NR 17-41, Bay 15-41. Free Throws: NR 6-9, Bay 7-10. Rebounds: NR 22 (McGhee 11) Bay 27 (McGlynn 7). Turnovers: NR 10, Bay 11. Fouls: NR 14, Bay 12.
Junior Varsity: Vermilion 41, North Ridgeville 39. 

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