Boys basketball: Late spurt gives Wadsworth win over Nordonia

WADSWORTH — The Wadsworth boys basketball team grew up a bit Friday night. In danger of losing a winnable game, the Grizzlies put it all together early in the fourth quarter and recorded a 59-50 victory over Nordonia in the Suburban League National Conference opener for both teams. Locked in a tie game at 47 after the Knights (1-2, 0-1) scored nine straight points over the end of the third period and beginning of the fourth, the Grizzlies (2-1, 1-0) quickly made everyone forget about a 4:41 scoreless stretch. Behind senior shooting guard Maxx Bosley (17 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists), who was presented with a commemorative basketball prior to the game for reaching 1,000 career points Tuesday against Brunswick, Wadsworth scored 12 straight points to lock up the win. Bosley, who spent much of the first three quarters trying to do too much, scored the first seven in that run, then got a somewhat lucky assist — he was caught in the air while driving baseline and his desperation pass through the key somehow went through four arms — to sophomore point guard Grady Hughes. Caden Shriver then scored off a Finn Schmitt assist and Smith capped the run with a free throw, putting Wadsworth up 59-47 with 44.6 seconds to play. Hughes was fantastic for the Grizzlies, hitting four 3-pointers en route to 16 points and three assists, while the 6-foot-7 Schmitt played his best game of the season with 16 points, six boards and three assists. The unsung hero was undersized but strong power forward Gavin Madigan, who took two shots and scored one point but grabbed a game-high 10 boards while doing a lot of blue-collar work for Wadsworth, which also got five points and four rebounds from Colson Matheny, who started at small forward in place of the injured Cal Corell (ankle), and four points, three boards and two assists from Shriver. Gianni Covelli led Nordonia with 11 points off the bench, while shooting guard Trevor Turnbull had 10 and small forward Jason Janosek added nine. Tied at 32 at halftime after both teams scored 17 points in the first quarter and 15 in the second, the Grizzlies went on an 8-0 run to start the third period and eventually went up nine late in the quarter before the Knights came back. Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on X. Wadsworth 59, Nordonia 50 NORDONIA 17 15 9 9 — 50 WADSWORTH 17 15 15 12 — 59 Nordonia — Jason Janosek 4-0-9, C.J. Caffey 2-0-4, Anthony Coneglio 1-1-3, Trevor Turnball 5-0-10, Aiden Fernandez 1-0-2, Max Braschwitz 1-0-2, Tyrease Settles 0-0-0, Jordan Byrd 2-0-5, Justin Jones 0-0-0, Gianni Covelli 4-3-11, Blake Johnson 0-0-0, Armaan Singh 1-2-4. TOTALS: 21-6-50. Wadsworth — Colson Matheny 2-0-5, Gavin Madigan 0-1-1, Finn Schmitt 6-4-16, Maxx Bosley 7-1-17, Grady Hughes 6-0-16, Caden Shriver 2-0-4, Reece Simmons 0-0-0, Kyle Schmeltzer 0-0-0. TOTALS: 23-6-59. 3-point goals — Janosek, Byrd, Hughes 4, Bosley 2, Matheny. Rebounds — Nordonia 24 (Braschwitz 4), Wadsworth 27 (Madigan 10). Assists — Nordonia 11 (Janosek 3), Wadsworth 14 (Bosley 4). Records — Nordonia (1-2, 0-1), Wadsworth (2-1, 1-0). Junior varsity — Nordonia 44, Wadsworth 42.