Boys basketball: Chris Hassinger breaks school record for wins as Medina beats Shaker Heights

MEDINA — Chris Hassinger is 54 years old going on 24. Enthusiastic, animated and vocal, the 12th-year Medina boys basketball coach became the program's all-time winningest coach Friday night when the Bees downed Shaker Heights 66-58 in Greater Cleveland Conference action. "It's just my personality," Hassinger said of his energy. "I get it from my mom (Pat). My mom's crazy. She's going to be 87 years old and she's still out there shoveling her driveway. I'll go over there and she's already out there. She's got high energy, so I think I get it from her." Hassinger's most recent win, which was keyed by 22 points, six 3-pointers, six rebounds and five assists from point guard Beckett Miller and 16 points, eight boards and four assists off the bench from 6-foot-6 Garrett Myers, improved his career record as Medina's boys coach to 171-108 (.613), which includes four regional appearances and a 28-11 mark in the postseason. He passed Medina County Sports Hall of Famer Keith Sooy, who went 170-73 (.700) in 11 seasons from 1987-98, including 12-11 in the tournament. "It's obviously special," said Hassinger, who was given a Gatorade shower in the locker room and had a number of family members and former assistant coaches and players celebrating with him in his office. "You've got Keith Sooy, who is a hall of famer, Jody Peters and Al Darner. Those guys are legends. To be mentioned in the same breath as them is very cool." After losing their season opener to a very good Garfield Heights team, the Bees (1-1, 1-0) regrouped nicely against the Raiders (0-2, 0-1), who got 16 points and 10 rebounds from center Kingston Seals and 10 points, four boards and three assists from shooting guard Chris Cunningham. The biggest keys to the game were 3-point shooting and limiting turnovers. Led by Miller's sensational 6-for-7 effort, Medina went 9-for-17 from distance compared to the Raiders' 1-of-15 on a night when both teams made 24 field goals and nine free throws. The Bees also won the middle quarters 42-24 largely because they made just five turnovers, but bookended that by committing 16 over the first and fourth periods, when they were outscored 34-24. "If we don't turn the ball over, we get to run our offense and we get points off that," Miller said. "If we do turn it over, that leads to them getting points." After falling behind 12-5 with 2:02 left in the opening period, Medina outscored Shaker Heights 54-27 over the next 20 minutes, then held on to win after giving up a 16-2 run that reduced its lead to six with 1:29 remaining. Miller, who barely saw varsity action as a sophomore, took just 10 shots and had his 22 points with 1:50 to play in the third period, though he did tire down the stretch against the Raiders' relentless full-court pressure. "When that first one went in, it felt really good," he said. "When I caught it the next couple of times, I had to let it fly." With 6-10 Lucas Hogan still working his way back from a foot injury, the Bees also got 11 points, six rebounds and three assists from shooting guard Ryan Harubin, 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting and four boards from undersized 6-3 center Luke Webb and five points, four rebounds and three assists from power forward Brody Kopkas. Medina's fifth starter, Bishop Burch, had two points, four rebounds and joined the rest of the Bees in holding the Raiders to 8-of-25 shooting over the middle quarters. "The things we struggled with tonight are easy fixes," Hassinger said. "Until we get some game experience, we're going to lose some close games and we're going to win some close games, but by the second half of the season we're going to be a good team." Hassinger, who also compiled a 63-26 record in four seasons as coach of the Medina girls team, will make sure of it. "He's very, very competitive," Miller said. "He really wants to win. It's fun playing for him. We've got a good offense and our plays work when we run them. We get easy buckets all the time." Asked about his coach's yelling, the point guard said, "Sometimes you've just got to take it on the chin and accept it. He's doing it to get us better." Hassinger, who doesn't weigh a whole lot more than he did when he graduated from Wadsworth in 1990, went out of his way to credit the assistant coaches he's had over the years, as well as the players. "I've had a lot of great people helping me over the years," he said while trying to get Gatorade out of his left ear. "With our schedule, it's so difficult to win, but there are a lot of other people involved in what's going on here and I appreciate them. "It's year by year," he added when asked how much longer he would coach. "Every year I say I'm going to quit — it's usually after a tough loss — and every time my wife (Hilary) says, 'You're not quitting.'" Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on X. Medina 66, Shaker Heights 58 SHAKER HEIGHTS 14 12 12 20 — 58 MEDINA 11 20 22 13 — 66 Shaker Heights — Dillon Slaughter 5-1-11, Jacire Eaddy 1-2-4, Kingston Seals 8-0-16, Chris Cunningham 4-2-10, Kevin Lowery 2-1-5, Adria Gallando 1-0-3, Ezra Epstein 2-2-6, Max Resnick 1-1-3. TOTALS: 24-9-58. Medina — Bishop Burch 1-0-2, Brody Kopkas 2-0-5, Luke Webb 4-2-10, Ryan Harubin 4-2-11, Beckett Miller 7-2-22, Garrett Myers 6-3-16, Donte Cargill 0-0-0, Korde Carey 0-0-0, Sean Kungli 0-0-0. TOTALS: 24-9-66. 3-point goals — Galando, Miller 6, Kopkas, Harubin, Myers. Rebounds — Shaker Heights 27 (Seals 10), Medina 32 (Myers 8). Assists — Shaker Heights 8 (Cunningham 3), Medina 16 (Miller 5). Records — Shaker Heights (0-2, 0-1), Medina (1-1, 1-0).