by DEAR FANS OF KOS, OUR GOAL AT KEE ON SPORTS IS TO KEEP THE CONTENT FREE TO READ FOR PARENTS, PLAYERS AND FANS. WE WILL NO LONGER BE ABLE TO DO THAT WITHOUT HELP FROM LOCAL SPONSORS. PLEASE EMAIL VINCE MCKEE AT Vince.McKee@keeonsports.com TO FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN HELP THIS REMAIN A FREE WEBSITE
NORTH OLMSTED, OH – North Olmsted overcame a 10-point comeback by Bay Village tonight in a wild 69-64 victory at home. The Eagles hit 12 from long range for 36 of their 69 points, but in the end, it was a drive by Eggie Cordero that won the game for them. Tied at 64 with 9 second left, a Cordero drive in which he made the shot, and then foul shot afterwards proved to be the difference.
North Olmsted head coach Kyle Johnson had this to say after the game about the experience of his team hanging tough and then using the inside game in the end, to win it, “We’ve been through it before, heck, it just happened Tuesday against Westlake. We just have to clean things up and cannot let a 10-point lead dwindle down to a tie ballgame. That is just taking care of the ball and playing defense. It feels good to play aggressive and attack, and we knew they had 5 fouls late, so we could be aggressive and attack to get to the line. We told them to keep attacking and they made the right play in the end. “
As mentioned, the Eagles were fueled by Eggie Cordero who had a monster night, finishing with 25 points, including 12 from deep. Head Coach Kyle Johnson talks about how special Cordero was tonight, “He got our Eagle toughness player of the game, that kid is nails! He is a kid I will go to bat with any day of the week. When we need a big play, he always makes it happen. “
Junior Dylan Susan continues to shine as he finished with 17 points including 15 from long range. That included a bank shot in the fun as well. Naoki Sato had some clutch shots as he totaled 10 points while Juelz Santiago had 7. Rounding out the scoring was Matthew Bloomfield with 6 while Nick Tepper and Donovan Martin had 2 each.
For the Bay Village Rockets, my goodness did they show heart tonight, twice coming back from a double-digit deficit to make it interesting. They were fueled by a very well rounded attacked that featured 13 from Max Cockburn while Evan Alexy had 12 and Tommy Mack with 11. It was Brendan Spellman with 9 while Malachi Coursen and Collin Melvin had 8 each. Rounding out the scoring for the Rockets was Jack Meade and Wondu Evans with 2 each.
I have to tell you, it was my first-time watching Tommy Mack play, and I was quite impressed. This young man showed a ton of heart and drive, and made crucial plays for the Rockets in the fourth, that helped them comeback to tie it. When you mix in his hustle, with the size of Evan Alexy at 6’6, along with the overall skill of Brendan Spellman and the outside shooting of Max Cockburn, this Rocket team can go on a run later this season.
North Olmsted started out of the gate hot, with a 7-2 lead just 90 seconds into the action. The Rockets battled back on the strength of 4 out of 4 from the foul line to tie it at 13 late into the first. It looked like the first quarter would end tied until Donovan Martin got fouled shooting with no time remaining and nailed two from the line to give the Eagles a 15-13 lead after one.
The second quarter was a game of runs as North Olmsted poured it on to lead 30-23 at one point with 3:22 left, before Bay Village went on a 11-4 run later in the quarter to cut it to 34-32. However, it was North Olmsted finishing strong as Cordero hit two three balls in the closing 24 seconds to earn the Eagles a 40-32 lead at the break.
The Eagles needed the entire third quarter to do it, but they didn’t allow the Rockets to cut into the lead, and finally, a Susan three pointer at the buzzer gave them a 52-42 lead to take into the final 8 minutes.
In the fourth, the Rockets used a quick 6-0 run to cut it to 55-51 with 5:15 to go. It was then time for Tommy Mack of the Rockets to take over, as he hit a three ball to cut it to 58-56 at one point, until a few moments later when it was a Mack left hand move that cut it to 64-62. It was Mack who kept fueling the Rockets. Then, with 35 seconds left, two Collin Melvin foul shots tied it, before the final Cordero push through the lane to win it for the Eagles.
The Eagles are back in action this Tuesday night against Fairview, and Kee On Sports will be streaming the game live on YouTube. You can watch here – https://www.youtube.com/@keeonsports1477
