Boys basketball: Isaac Smith carries Cloverleaf to win over Ravenna

WESTFIELD TWP. — Isaac Smith went on a tear and the rest of the Cloverleaf boys basketball team went with him. The Colts never led in the first half Tuesday, but behind Smith's game-changing third-quarter performance they emerged with a 72-60 Metro Athletic Conference victory over Ravenna. Smith, who finished with a career-high 31 points to go along with a team-high eight rebounds, four assists and five steals, had 18 points in the third period as Cloverleaf (3-1, 2-1) overtook the Ravens (0-4, 0-3) for good. "The team was bringing energy," the 5-foot-11 small forward said. "I was just bringing it back." Fourteen of Smith's third-quarter points came in the first 3:55. That helped the Colts, who trailed by as many as seven in the first half and 28-26 at intermission, go on a quick 20-11 run to take a seven-point lead. Smith's first points of the period — and Cloverleaf's first lead of the game — came at the 7:08 mark, when he was fouled 19 feet from the basket while leaning to the right. He tossed the ball toward the hoop, it went in and he made the free throw to put his team up 31-30. The next trip down, the athletic sophomore nailed a conventional 3-pointer. He then scored on two drives, with his final bucket of that 3:55 stretch coming when he rebounded a missed free throw by teammate Carter Whitehair and scored. "It felt really good," Smith said. "It always feels good when the team is also doing well." Seemingly getting every loose ball or long rebound and relentlessly pushing the pace and attacking, Smith added two more buckets in the quarter, helping Cloverleaf surpass its first-half scoring total while winning the third 27-18. "He's a phenomenal player," Colts point guard Marty Moran said. "He has all the skills. He got hot, and as a team we recognized that and got him the ball." In his typical fundamentally strong, fairly low-key way, Moran also was extremely good while finishing with 14 points, six boards and nine assists. Six of the senior's points came in the fourth quarter, when the Colts turned back every Ravens challenge. "It's great playing with him," Smith said. "He's a real smart player. He knows what he's doing out there." Cloverleaf, which committed 11 of its 17 turnovers in the first half, also got eight points and four boards from Whitehair, six points and six rebounds from center Zak Brownson and five points, two boards and two assists from shooting guard Ty Kovach. Ravenna was led by aggressive and well-rounded power forward Curtis Ross, who had 16 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Small forward Bryant Thompson had 13 points, while shooting guard Nigel Williams and reserve Tykwon Ward had 10 apiece. Both teams played man-to-man for the majority of the game, with the Ravens sometimes doing that over the length of the floor. The Colts took control in the third period in large part because of Smith, but also because they started taking care of the ball and did a much better job keeping Ravenna off the glass. That continued in the fourth quarter as Cloverleaf won the second half 46-32. "We weren't happy, for sure," Smith said of trailing at halftime. "We got it together and brought it back." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on X. Cloverleaf 72, Ravenna 60 RAVENNA 16 12 18 14 — 60 CLOVERLEAF 15 11 27 19 —72 Ravenna — Bryant Thompson 5-2-13, Curtis Ross 7-1-16, Jaxon Kelly 2-3-7, Nigil Williams 5-0-10, Sean Jordan 1-2-4, Tykwon Ward 4-0-10, Braylon Burks 0-0-0, Mark Miller 0-0-0. TOTALS: 24-8-60. Cloverleaf — Isaac Smith 13-2-31, Carter Whitehair 3-1-8, Zak Brownson 2-2-6, Ty Kovach 2-0-5, Marty Moran 7-0-14, Kellen Price1-0-3, Joe Cesaro 1-0-3, Gavin Forbes 1-0-2. TOTALS: 30-5-72. 3-point goals — Ward 2, Ross, Thompson, Smith 3, Kovach, Whitehair, Cesareo, Price. Rebounds — Ravenna 23 (Ross 8), Cloverleaf 31 (Smith 8). Assists — Ravenna 12 (Ross 5), Cloverleaf 17 (Moran 9). Records — Ravenna (0-4, 0-3), Cloverleaf (3-1, 2-1). Junior varsity — Cloverleaf 55, Ravenna 46 (C: Damien Reed 13).