BLUE DEVIL 81
Member
One interesting note for those not familiar with basketball in the Mahoning Valley this year. McDonald beat Warren JFK 65-62 earlier this year. JFK is 12-13 but they play a pretty tough schedule.
Waterloo is in the same region as Norwayne (one of our better wins on the season). Lucas played them in football a few years ago, winning by a couple of TDs. Recently we have had great success vs teams from the Mahoning Valley region. In football that is. We do not play anyone from over that way in b-ball.I have not seen Lucas play. However, McDonald played Waterloo who I do not believe has a starter under 6’2”. Two guys go 6’6” and another is 6’5”. McDonald lost both games but they were both close and McDonald could have won either game if a couple bounces go their way. Waterloo is in the final 16 in D3 and I expect them to be in the Final 8.
Lucas will bring a great crowd for D4. Those people travel.Do we think every team will bring a good crowd?
That Springfield score was something else. WOW.McDonald really hasn’t struggled against the press all year...until Friday. Devils led comfortably by 20+ most of the game until southern pressed and caused some havoc. Seemed McDonald tried forcing the ball too much instead of just making the smart/easy pass. Hopefully it’s something to learn from.
From what little I’ve seen/read about Lucas they seem to be similar to Springfield. Which could be good or bad, McDonald beat Springfield at home but got waxed on the road.
When Lucas played Harvest Prep in the state semi-finals I could not believe the lack of crowd on their side. It blew my mind.I think the Fieldhouse will be at least 2/3 filled for the McDonald Lucas game ..
tip off of first game place will be sparsely populated...
I predict a very large crowd on the Lucas side. The community really rallies around these boys.Wish I knew more on Lucas but:
mcdonald: outside of the common knowledge of Rasile being one of best scorers in the state, they are a team that will pressure and ply relentless for an entire game. Portelese is the best compliment to Rasile and will work hard on the glass. If their point guard is able to control the game and get them into their sets, Lucas could be in some trouble. With that said, Lucas size can provide some difficulty to McDonald in regards to rebounding and breaking the pressure. This game will have a larger crowd than the first If Lucas brings a crowd like an earlier individual posted.
Richmond/Jfk: Richmond is one of the favorites in the state for a reason. Size, athletes, basketball players. They have played a solid schedule all year and have come away from the challenge with a solid record. They seemingly cruised through districts and Jfk will need to find a way to limit turnovers and stop Richmond from creating the pace. JFK has played a difficult schedule in their own right and According to the paper are 10-2 in their past 12 games.
From a Trumbull county perspective it Wouk be cool for area to have two teams play for regional finals but both have tall tasks in front of them.
Good luck to all 4 teams tonight and in the future
Halftime
Mcdonald 24
Lucas 25
40-32 end of 3rd Lucas up.
The OHSAA needs to reevaluate how some of these officials are chosen. Both games were rough. Not sure how that wasn't a foul at the end of regulation.