Select Page

GENOA – Every season-ending loss hurts. Whether it’s in the state championship game or the first round of sectional play, the year’s final loss always stings and brings with it disappointment.

But when that season-ending loss comes along with an unsatisfying effort and poor execution, the disappointment is even greater.

Wednesday evening, the Ross boys basketball team saw its season come to a close in a 55-44 defeat to Toledo Central Catholic, a team that entered the night losing 12 of its last 13 games.

“The more aggressive team won,” Ross coach Mark Gedeon. “They were physically more aggressive, they were attacking the paint better than we were. They deserved to win this game. I know we can play better than what we did, which is disappointing. The second season you hope to have a nice, magical run.”

The night began well for the Little Giants. They made 6-of-12 field goal attempts in the first quarter, taking a 17-12 lead.

But the second quarter saw Central’s 6-foot-3 sophomore forward Kendall Marshall take over the game. Marshall scored 13 points in the second quarter, leading the Irish on a 10-0 scoring run over 3 minutes and 30 seconds in the latter portion of the quarter, putting Ross into a 30-25 deficit entering halftime.

Marshall ended the night with a game-high 27 points.

“We know he’s a scorer, he’s a very strong player, a left-hander, and he was able to go hard with his dominant hand and getting five-foot pull-ups, as opposed to what we want, which is shooting over us from hopefully 18 feet out,” Gedeon said. “The second quarter, defensively, is really where we let down.”

If the second quarter belonged to Marshall, the third was owned by the Little Giants’ own mistakes.

Ross turned the ball over six times in the third quarter, most of which led to easy transition buckets by the Irish, as Central Catholic grew its lead to 10 entering the fourth quarter and to 15 early in the fourth.

Ross had one last gasp, answering Central’s 5-0 run to begin the fourth quarter with a 6-0 run of its own, trimming the deficit back down to nine, 47-38, with a little more than four minutes to play.

But the Little Giants came no closer. Despite some good opportunities to continue its momentum, Ross missed a handful for short jump shots and layups while continuing to be plagued by turnover issues, losing the ball five times in the fourth, as the season wound down to its disappointing conclusion.

“Being down 10, a lot of things have to go right,” Gedeon said. “We’ve been in that position before this year, we were down 12 to Clyde in the fourth quarter and came back to win, unfortunately the hill was a little too big for us to climb here.”

The Little Giants end their season with a 9-14 overall record and with starters Jabryis Heidelburg, Bryce McKinstry and Bryce Root expected back next season.

In the final game of their careers, Keyon Sewell led Ross with 12 points while Maliek Johnson added 10. Davion Anderson, Tre Campbell and Jovan Lewis also played their final game in a Little Giant uniform.

“All five of them love the game of basketball, they’re good people,” Gedeon said of his seniors. “One of the things about athletics and coaching is working with all kinds of quality people, the relationships you develop. That’s always tough (to lose), especially with this group of five. We knew they’d always be there with our offseason stuff.

“Like every year, you need someone to fill the void and hopefully some of our younger players will be willing to improve themselves individually and collectively.”

 

Toledo Central Catholic 55, Fremont Ross 44

ROSS (44)

Johnson 5 0-0 10; Sewell 3 3-3 12; Heidelburg 4 0-0 10; Root 2 0-0 4; Campbell 2 1-2 6; Lewis 1 0-0 2. Totals, 17 4-5 44.

CENTRAL CATHOLIC (55)

Norrills 4 0-2 8; Awls 1 1-2 3; Cole 2 3-4 6; Marshall 9 8-10 27; Mi. Griffin 1 0-0 2; Ma. Griffin 4 0-0 9. Totals, 20 12-18 55.

3-pointers: FR, 6 (Sewell 3; Heidelburg 2; Campbell 1); CC, 1 (Ma. Griffin).

 
BOYS GOLF
BOYS SOCCER
CHEERLEADING
CROSS COUNTRY
FOOTBALL
GIRLS GOLF
GIRLS SOCCER
GIRLS TENNIS
VOLLEYBALL
BOYS BASKETBALL
GIRLS BASKETBALL
SWIMMING & DIVING
BOYS WRESTLING
BOWLING
BASEBALL
BOYS TENNIS
SOFTBALL
TRACK & FIELD
CHEERLEADING
GIRLS WRESTLING
T  H  E       O  F  F  I  C  I  A  L       S  I  T  E       O  F       F  R  E  M  O  N  T       C  I  T  Y       S  C  H  O  O  L       A  T  H  L  E  T  I  C  S
X