NORTH RIDGEVILLE — Don’t let the final score fool you. It wasn’t that simple for North Ridgeville.
For three and a half quarters Avon gave the Rangers all they could handle before Ridgeville pulled out a 64-51 West Shore Conference win Wednesday night.
The game was supposed to be played Tuesday but was postponed due to the weather.
The delay seemed to hurt North Ridgeville more than it did Avon until the final quarter when the Rangers went to their 6-foot-10 pivot man Drew McGhee. McGhee scored 16 of his game-high 24 points in the final quarter to help put the game away. Forward Keene Cockburn helped with 10 of his 15 points down the stretch.
Both teams were playing without key personnel as Avon was missing starter Kyle Gregory (concussion) and Mike Carge (medical condition) and North Ridgeville was without starting point guard Will Mahaffey (concussion) and sixth man Adam Quinones (unspecified).
“Unfortunately that final score doesn’t look good,” Avon coach Jim Baker said. “For three and a half quarters we played good basketball, but being shorthanded like that really hurt because you can’t substitute for your ball handlers. I’m not making excuses because North Ridgeville did a very nice job of pressuring our kids and it took its toll on us.”
North Ridgeville (15-3, 12-1) turned up the defense in the fourth quarter and with 3:38 left caused the Eagles to go two and a half minutes without a basket. Meanwhile, North Ridgeville turned a 49-all tie into a 61-49 lead before Avon’s Parker Rimann hit a jump shot to break the momentum with 1:10 left in the game.
“We didn’t make very many adjustments at halftime,” North Ridgeville coach Bill Noggle said. “The main adjustment we made was our energy level. I told the kids at halftime we weren’t going to make many adjustments because it wasn’t up to the coaches. They had to up their energy level to get the loose balls, play defense, and rebound, all that takes energy.
“We knew we were in for a battle because Coach Baker does a great job and they’re a good team. I knew they weren’t going to back down.”
Both teams spent the first quarter feeling each other out and were tied 12-12.
Avon then jumped out to a 24-16 lead with 1:33 left in the first half, but turned the ball over on three straight possessions and the Rangers took advantage, closing the gap to 24-19 at halftime.
The Rangers were able to close the lead to 38-36 going into the final quarter.
Then McGhee and Cockburn took over.
With the Eagles being forced to foul to get the ball back, the Rangers made them pay by converting 10-of-15 in the final 2:30.
“I think we just have to refocus,” Noggle said. “I think the kid’s heads were all everywhere. I told them before the game I didn’t think we were focused. A little yelling at halftime and we were able to come out and refocus.”
For McGhee it was a case of settling down in the second half after a very difficult first half partly due to the Avon defense and partly due to the pressure he was putting on himself.
“Coach took me out and told me to take a deep breath and refocus myself,” he said. “When I got back in the game, everything started falling. The first half was real ugly and I was getting frustrated. But when coach took me out I settled down. The second half worked well.”
The Rangers will wrap up their conference schedule Friday night with neighborhood rival Midview, while Avon will take on Bay in their final game before the tournament.
Contact Ron Nenadal at 329-7137 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

North Ridgeville 64, Avon 51

NORTH RIDGEVILLE(64): Drew McGhee 11-2-24, Keene Cockburn 5-5-15, Adam Quinones 0-0-0, Will Mahaffey 0-0-0, Tim Ice 2-1-5, Dan Montgomery 0-0-0, Jeff Hammond 1-0-2, Matt Murphy 4-2-12, Nick Rogerson 1-0-2, Jacob Rigsby 1-1-4, Jason Ice 0-0-0, Devan White 0-0-0, Ryan McNamara 0-1-1. Totals: 25-11-64.
AVON(51): Garrett Gronowski 5-2-12, Steve Isaac 7-0-15, Matt Logan 4-0-9, Marquis Harrell 3-2-8, Ryan O’Rourke 1-0-3, Andrew Wimmer 1-0-2, Parker Rimann 1-0-2, Matt Joseph 0-0-0, John Harrison 0-0-0, Erik Stump 0-0-0. Totals 22-4-51.
North Ridgeville     12    7    19       28     —   64
Avon    12    12    14    13     —   51
Three-point goals: NR (3): Murphy 2, Rigsby. Avon: (3) Logan, O’Rourke, Isaac. Field Goals: N Ridgeville 25-51, Avon 2-47. Free Throws: North Ridgeville 11-18, Avon 4-13. Rebounds: N Ridgeville 32 (McGhee 15) Avon 24 (Gronowski 9). Turnovers: N Ridgeville 14, Avon 15. Fouls: North Ridgeville 15, Avon 21. Fouled out: A Harrell, Logan.
Junior Varsity: North Ridgeville, 44-19 

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