by Kent, Ohio – Freshman guard Solomon Callaghan had 15 points, including the game-winner, propelling #10 seed Wadsworth to a nail-biting 37-36 victory over host Kent Roosevelt to open up OHSAA tournament play.
After a defensive-minded first quarter, in which the Riders led 7-5, the Grizzlies took their first lead of the game in the second quarter. They took advantage of a pair of Rider turnovers and turned them into points. After a three-point play to pad their lead to 16-11, back to back three pointers gave the Riders the lead going into halftime.
Common would knock down another three to increase the Rider lead to 20-16. But the Grizzlies countered with a three and a layup on consecutive possessions by senior guard Stan Bingham to retake the lead.
It continued to be a back-and-forth affair going into the final quarter. Roosevelt countered a three-pointer by Callaghan with a pair of baskets. The first was a three-point play by Zac Common and then a three by Jayden Reynolds. Sophomore guard Scott Dallas scored his first points on a layup with three minutes left. He would add another bucket to give the Grizzlies a 35-32 lead late in the game.
Senior Zac Common had 20 points to lead all scorers. He knocked down some big buckets to keep the Rough Riders in the game, including their last seven points.
He hit a three-pointer to end the first half and give the Riders the lead going into halftime. After converting two free throws, Common knocked down a jumper to give Kent Roosevelt the lead with 19.5 seconds left.
After a couple of timeouts, Wadsworth inbounded the ball to Solomon Callaghan. Callaghan would hit the game-winning jumper to give the Grizzlies the win and keep their season going.
“I’m so doggone happy with our kids right now. There were definitely ups and downs and momentum changes in the game. But they were gritty, buckled down, and got stops. I’m very proud of our kids and the attitude they brought to the game today.” said Wadsworth head coach Mike Moser. “We give the kids one objective in practice and that’s to get better every day.”
The Wadsworth Grizzlies improve to 6-17 overall and advance to the Copley District sectional championship where they will take on #2 seed Walsh Jesuit Saturday evening.
“I thought all of our guys played really, really hard. Zac (Common) was great tonight, but we didn’t get a couple stops at the end when we needed them. Wadsworth played well and did a great job.” said Kent Roosevelt head coach Christian Hunter.
The Kent Roosevelt Rough Riders finish the season at 11-12.
