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SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio– When Shaker guard Jalen Brown found a rhythm, he let Rhodes know. The senior guard had 15 points in the fourth quarter, helping Shaker run away with an 89-76 win over Rhodes Saturday night.
FINAL: Shaker defeats Rhodes 89-76 @raidersofshaker @DYoung42 @SportsKee1 pic.twitter.com/EMI4F3ki9O
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) February 27, 2022
“We already know Danny is going to be Danny,” head coach Danny Young said. “Exactly what you saw (Brown) do is exactly what I told him to do. He can get to the rim..very athletic off the floor and I thought he did a great job taking it when he should have. I thought his decision-making was on point tonight…he comes from a basketball family.”
Daniel Young paced the Raiders with a game-high 28 points during the win along with 25 points from Brown. Jonas Burge and Kellon Smith rounded out the scoring with 14 and 15 points as four different players scored in double figures.
The game wasn’t decided until the final four minutes of the fourth quarter. Entering the fourth quarter, Shaker held a 52-51 lead. Both teams were in the bonus with seven minutes left in the fourth quarter and the double bonus in the final two minutes.
That forced the Raiders to play more aggressively, attacking the basket often as the team shot 12 free throws in the fourth quarter alone.
“We wanted to play more aggressively,” Daniel Young said. “I felt like when we saw the double bonus, we started to become more aggressive.”
“I told them it’s a guard’s game,” coach Young said. “I’m so happy (Jalen) came back from Benedictine…I’m proud of them man, they just fought…I wanted this game back for these kids”
The Raiders held a three-point lead with just over four minutes left. Seconds later, that lead grew to nine points after a series of missed opportunities from Rhodes on the offensive end.
Jalen Brown again. Shaker leads 74-66, 2:55 remaining. @raidersofshaker @SportsKee1 pic.twitter.com/1pURytKV6W
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) February 27, 2022
The lead only grew from there as Rhodes wasn’t able to put together enough stops in the closing two minutes. The Raiders ultimately ended the game on a 15-8 run in the closing 3:30 minutes.
“That was probably their best Mike Tyson punches, we took their best and we didn’t play our best and it was a tie ballgame,” coach Young said at halftime. “I felt if we come out and stay connected, play hard, play smart and play together, lock in on our defensive principles and rebounding, I think we’ll be in good shape…I just thought our defensive intensity and effort together as a team went to the next level.”
Rhodes controlled the tempo early on in the game as they got off to a 9-2 lead early in the first quarter. They were able to get plenty of looks inside the paint as well as the outside shooting from sophomore guard Antwon Reynolds. He had eight of the team’s 12 points in the first four minutes of the game.
Shaker then began to climb back in the first half. Daniel Young and Jonas Burge started connecting on transition buckets and the Raiders even took their first lead to the game with under one minute left in the half following a Surge corner 3-pointer, his third of the first half.
However, the game was tied at 37 at the break despite the Rams controlling the flow of the game throughout the first half. Reynolds paced the Ram’s offense in the first half with 13 points.
That’s all the points he would end up scoring Saturday night as the Raiders shut him down playing man defense, something that was talked about at halftime.
“Our game plan was to go zones and changeups and stuff like that but it wasn’t successful,” coach Young Said. “We had to go man and it was good.”
For the Rams, Jamal Sumlin led the way with a team-high 24 points. Kenyon Giles added 21 points along with Reynolds’ 13 points, ending their season with a 16-8 record.
With the win, Shaker will now play Brecksville in the district semifinal on March 2 at Copley High School.
