Boys basketball: Defense leads Cloverleaf to MAC win over Streetsboro

WESTFIELD TWP. — The first three quarters of the Cloverleaf boys basketball team's Metro Athletic Conference matchup with Streetsboro were an old-school defensive slugfest. The Colts were as good on the defensive end as they have been all season, and when things got a little wild in the fourth quarter Cloverleaf held on for a key 52-46 win. Cloverleaf (3-2, 2-1) held the Rockets (2-3, 2-1) to six points in the first quarter and four in the second as it defended well on the perimeter and no one dared to challenge Colts big man Logan Forbes, who had 16 points and 21 rebounds. "That is kind of an empowering feeling," the 6-foot-8 senior said. "When teams are thinking about you and guarding you and even when they are trying to, it's still a struggle for them still. No better feeling than knowing the other team is struggling to guard you." With the Rockets forced to take long jumpers and harassed 3-point attempts, Cloverleaf led by as many as 19 in the third quarter. "It's just something we've been working on all week," Colts guard Marty Moran said. "Our offense has started to flow this year, so we started to focus on defense. I guess we've been working hard enough that we executed well in the first half on defense." The Colts held the Rockets to just 30% from the floor (19-of-64) and 22% from behind the 3-point line (6-for-27). Conversely Cloverleaf made 49% from the field (22-of-45), but just 2-of-8 from behind the arc. The high-water lead came when Moran (12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists) buried the second Colts 3-pointer of the night to push the lead to 35-16. It capped a 16-6 Cloverleaf run to start the third quarter as the offense really started to roll and push the tempo. "I think that's our biggest change this year," Forbes said. "Coach (Jack) Banks is telling us to push the ball and not take our time. Obviously, we still need to be smart with the passes and be strong with our shots. We want to push the ball and tire teams out with our offense and score as much as we can." Ahead 37-20 at the end of the third, the Colts had to fend off a suddenly improved shooting performance by Streetsboro. The Rockets his six 3-pointers in the final quarter after going 0-for-12 in the first three. It wasn't due to any cracks in the Cloverleaf defense, as the majority of the long-range shots were still taken with a hand in the face. Jack Batten (16 points, 4-of-14 3-pointers, 6-of-24 overall) hit his final bomb with 10 seconds left to cut the Cloverleaf lead to 51-46, but it was too little, too late. Electric Colts freshman Isaac Smith (10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists) split a pair of free throws at the other end with 2.8 seconds remaining to seal the Cloverleaf win. "The whole plan was to shut down (Batten)," Forbes said. "We had three different people face-guarding him throughout the entire game. If we stopped him, then we knew we could guard everybody else." Contact Chad Grant at sports@medina-gazette.com. Cloverleaf 52, Streetsboro 46 STREETSBORO 6 4 10 26 – 46 CLOVERLEAF 13 6 18 15 – 52 Streetsboro – Charles Ivory 8-0-18, Michael Berry 0-0-0, Jackson Gula 1-2-4, Jack Batten 6-0-16, Trevor Murray 0-0-0, Preston Laryea 2-0-4, Ethan Laryea 2-0-4, Carter Baab 0-0-0. TOTALS: 19-2-46. Cloverleaf – Gavin Cauley 1-0-2, Carter Whitehair 3-2-8, Logan Forbes 7-1-16, Marty Moran 5-1-12, Ty Novak 2-0-4, Dylan Bresnahan 0-0-0, Isaac Smith 4-2-10, Brady Jackman 0-0-0. TOTALS: 22-6-52. 3-point goals – Batten 4, Ivory 2, Forbes, Moran. Rebounds – Streetsboro 30 (P. Layea 7), Cloverleaf 36 (Forbes 21). Assists – Streetsboro 5 (Gula, E. Laryea 2), Cloverleaf 12 (Moran 3). Records – Streetsboro (2-3, 2-1), Cloverleaf (4-3, 2-1). Junior varsity – Streetsboro 63-60 (OT) (C: Gavin Forbes 16, Jackson James 14, Brayen Beier 13)