High school basketball: Medina boys grind their way to a win over Copley

MEDINA — The signature pull-up jumper of superstar Corey Tripp was going everywhere but through the basket, Christian Howard was getting dominated by 6-foot-7 Copley center Caleb Laurich, 3-point territory was a wasteland and Khoi Thurmon and Amire Robinson were executing the Indians' brilliant slowdown game plan to perfection. The third-seeded Medina boys basketball team was on the ropes Wednesday in a Division I, Northeast 4 District semifinal, but championship experience is worth its weight in gold during the tournament, and the Bees never imploded — even if a bench chair flew against folded-in bleachers and profanities echoed to the Richard H. Clevidence Gymnasium rafters. Starting three talented sophomores, No. 15 Copley couldn't sustain and ultimately fell apart once Medina grabbed a bit of momentum in the second half. Final score: Bees 42, Indians 35 in an old-school slugfest that remarkably didn't have a made 3-pointer. Medina (16-6), which won the second half 30-17 after being scoreless from the field in the second quarter, improved to 19-6 in the tournament under seventh-year coach Chris Hassinger and will host ninth-seeded Cleveland Heights, a mild upset winner over eighth-seeded Shaker Heights, at 7 p.m. Saturday. "It was awesome, man," Hassinger said after letting out a Ric Flair-inspired "Whoo!" in the coaches office. "To me, that's tournament basketball. Our kids celebrated like we won a state championship, which I love because at this point you don't necessarily care how great you play. All you care about is a victory." The Bees won despite being scoreless for 6:42 over the first and second quarters — it was part of a 9:52 field goal drought — falling behind 18-10 late in the first half and missing all eight of their 3-point attempts. Medina career scoring leader Tripp was without a point over the first 15:12 and a field goal for the initial 21:52, and the Bees' top scorers at halftime were six players with two points apiece. Tripp eventually ignited an offense on lift support with six quick points late in the third quarter and finished with a game-high 12, making him the Bees' leader for the 22nd consecutive game. Howard was brilliant in the second half with eight of his 10 points, while Medina got huge fourth-quarter drawn charges from Jajuan Jackson and Carter Hipp and executed its spread offense aggressively to get three wide-open layups and a Tripp dunk in the closing minutes. Suburban League American Conference champion Copley (14-10) got nine points from Thurmon, a left-handed sophomore point guard who already holds an offer from Illinois, and eight points, 11 rebounds and five blocks from Laurich. The Indians didn't outright stall but were extremely patient, running a North Carolina-style weave, isolating Thurmon or Robinson and calmly resetting when the Bees used backside help to cut off drives. It was a game plan similar to the one they used in a 30-25 loss to St. Vincent-St. Mary in the 2019 district finals. "Coming out and not being able to buy a bucket was hard," Tripp said. "It was hard to bounce back, but we did." Medina trailed 18-14 at halftime but didn't cut the deficit to one possession until Hipp got a steal deep in the backcourt and fired ahead to Tripp, who was fouled on a driving layup that made the score 28-26 with 31.1 seconds left in the third quarter. Tripp missed the free throw, but the emotional sequence was the boost the Bees needed after fighting so valiantly to stay alive. The momentum carried into the fourth, as Howard and Tripp scored consecutively to give Medina its first lead since 8-6 with 1:25 left in the first period. Copley quickly tied at 30, but the 5-9 Jackson soared for a tip-in and Bryce Beech scored in transition to push the Bees' lead to 34-31. Medina then got a stop — Thurmon was scoreless over the final 10:16 — and finished by using Copley's own game plan against it. Howard moved to the perimeter to draw Laurich away from the rim, then crossed him over for a down-the-lane layup and assisted to Brandon Geschke and Hipp over the final 48 seconds. Included in the sequence was a gigantic charge drawn by Hipp against Thurmon in a 36-32 game with 1:21 remaining. "It just shows that we're together," Tripp said. "We had a couple mental breakdowns, but everybody focused up, locked back in and trusted each other. That's why we won." Medina fans had every right to worry over the first 20 minutes. The Bees prepared for the possibility that Copley would slow tempo to a crawl — they pressed full court and trapped along the sideline in the heart of their comeback — but an offense that entered play averaging 71.8 points not being able to produce was an unforeseen frustration. Copley clearly scouted the Bees, as Laurich either blocked Howard outright or got help from Matthew Dente (9 points). The Indians also collapsed the paint when Tripp drove off a high screen, allowing Laurich the freedom to close out and get a long hand in front of Tripp's pull-up jumper. Through 2½ quarters, Medina's leading scorers on the season were as followed: Tripp 0-for-9, Howard 2-for-4 and Geschke 1-for-3. "In the beginning, it was just frustrating," Howard said. "When I came off to the bench, I kicked the chair into the stands. It was a real emotional game. "Congrats to them. That was a great defensive game plan. The score was (42-35) and we're used to scoring in the 70s and 80s. They knew everything we were going to do — me, (Tripp), everybody. It was a great defensive game by them." The Bees made their move down 24-18 after 240-pound backup center Matt Spatny moved Laurich off the block and scored inside with 2:35 left in the third quarter. Tripp then split defenders in the lane for his first bucket 27 seconds later and sandwiched transition layups around a Laurich dunk, drawing the score to 28-26 heading into the fourth. The game was pretty much all Medina after that, leading to a raucous celebration afterward. "Our guys have been down before," Hassinger said. "They were saying, 'Hey, we were down 15 against Buchtel and came back,' and started talking about the games we've been in. It was nice to see them have a lot of confidence." Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com. Medina 42, Copley 35 Division I, Northeast 4 District Semifinal COPLEY &emsp;&emsp;8 10 10 7 — 35 MEDINA &emsp;&emsp;8 4 14 16 — 42 Copley — Amire Robinson 1-1-3, Matthew Dente 3-3-9, Caleb Laurich 4-0-8, Mike Davis 1-0-2, Khoi Thurmon 2-5-9, Cory Arp 1-0-2, Trevor White 1-0-2, Trent Wininger 0-0-0. TOTALS: 13-9-35. Medina — Jajuan Jackson 2-0-4, Bryce Beech 1-0-2, Christian Howard 4-2-10, Brandon Geschke 2-0-4, Corey Tripp 5-2-12, Carter Hipp 2-0-4, Michael Rodak 0-0-0, Matt Spatny 2-0-4, Drew Hensley 0-2-2. TOTALS: 18-6-42. 3-point goals — None. Rebounds — Copley 26 (Laurich 11), Medina 27 (Tripp 7). Assists — Copley 4 (Thurmon 3), Medina 7 (Howard 2). Records — Copley (14-10), Medina (16-6).