Boys Basketball | Warren Kennedy's offensive clinic in the third quarter haunts Rootstown
ROOTSTOWN — First-quarter timeouts are beginning to haunt Rootstown boys basketball coach Cody Calhoun.
For the second straight Friday, on his home court, the Rovers’ mentor was forced to call a timeout to spark his team.
Last Friday, it was part of a 22-5 deficit to league rival Mogadore. Rootstown battled all the way back to challenge for a victory before falling to the Wildcats.
On Friday, Calhoun’s Rovers fell behind 9-1 to the Warren John F. Kennedy Eagles in a sloppy opening two minutes that forced his hand to call for a break.
Once again, Rootstown promptly responded and rallied to finish the quarter trailing just 15-12. The Rovers won the second quarter and entered halftime tied 25-25.
However, an eight-minute offensive clinic by the Eagles in the third quarter proved to be the knockout punch in a 74-56 Portage Trail Conference victory for JFK (7-5, 4-2 PTC).
In the decisive quarter, the Eagles shot a sparkling 14-of-16 from the field and lived at the rim on a combination of concerted and aggressive drives to the basket and great ball movement to find open players near the bucket.
It erupted JFK for a 32-point quarter to turn the knotted halftime score to a commanding 57-37 lead going into the fourth quarter.
“We talked at halftime about starting the third quarter with a higher level of intensity, but JFK’s intensity was clearly above and beyond where we were at,” Calhoun said. “Those eight minutes were the difference in the game.”
Sophomore Michael Condoleon (22 points) and freshman Nick Ryan (18 points) led the Eagles, but the Eagles are balanced in ability and kept the Rovers’ defense alert at all times.
JFK had seven different players score and shot 55% from the floor, with Jaden Rishel scoring 15 points to join Condoleon and Ryan in double-digits. Rishel, who was scoreless in the first half, came alive in the second half to score his points on 7-of-9 shooting.
“You have to be aware defensively at all times against them,” said Calhoun of the Eagles. “Every guy that hits the court can play. They can all handle the ball and they can all shoot.”
Even still, the rally-minded Rovers, down by as many as 20, continued to pull closer through the early portions of the fourth quarter.
Sparked by energy efforts off the bench from sophomore Aiden Rodstrom and junior Cole Hostetler, the Rovers (4-8, 1-5 PTC) cut JFK’s lead to single-digits at 60-52 with 3:32 to play. The recovery was short-lived, though, as the Eagles, following a timeout, quickly ballooned their advantage back to an unreachable margin.
“We battled, like we always do,” Calhoun said. “We got a great spark from Aiden and Cole tonight. They both had great games. They are players that their efforts don’t always show up in the box score, but they still have a huge impact for us. Tonight, they gave us a big boost.”
Condoleon finished the game shooting 10-of-15 and in addition to being the Eagles’ leading scorer, he finished with five assists and eight steals — with five of those coming in the first quarter. Ryan also shot well, 7-of-12, including two of his three 3s.
Rootstown’s offensive leader was Nick Wancik, who connected for 21 points and sank four 3-pointers. He also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Dom Shipp and Rodstrom added 10 points, while Hostetler scored nine for the Rovers.
Rovers senior Xavier Birkett also turned in a strong all-around effort, scoring four points, grabbing six rebounds, dishing five assists, swiping four steals and blocking one shot.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: The Warren Kennedy Eagles defeat the Rootstown Rovers in PTC boys hoops
