Boys basketball: Medina Christian gets signature win over Andrews Osborne

MEDINA — The Medina Christian Academy boys basketball team had an opportunity for a signature win Thursday, and the Knights didn't let that chance slip away. Taking on an AAU-like Andrews Osborne team that has players from across the globe, Medina Christian hung tough with a tremendous all-around effort and knocked off the Phoenix 54-49. "It was huge," Knights' senior wing R.J. Walgate said. "With all due respect, I have heard a lot of Andrews Osborne in the media over the summer with the new coach (Jonathan Burge), and they deserve it. "These are the things and why I came here. I have been here for a long time coming back to high school, and I dreamed about the moments where we would get the big win and people would look at us and say, 'Look at what the Lord is doing at that school." I want to give all the glory to my Lord and savior Jesus Christ. I hope with this win everybody can look and say that the Lord is doing something special there." With players like Walgate and Sam Dorman being known commodities for the Knights (4-0), one of the biggest plays came from sixth man Preston Collins. After Walgate (18 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, block) buried his ninth and 10 free throws and Dorman (16, 9, 2, 2) scored on a hard drive to the basket, the Knights pulled to 46-45. Medina Christian forced a miss on the next Andrews Osborne possession, and Collins came through with a clutch play. Collins (9 points, 4 rebounds) crashed the glass hard and came up with a rebound off a missed 3-pointer and converted a huge inside basket amongst the trees to give the Knights a 47-46 lead with 2:28 left. "It's just awesome," Collins said. "This is why we play the game of basketball. This is why we love it. It's these moments, the adrenaline rush and just locked into that moment. I just look forward to that. It's awesome and a blessing to be out here and play for the glory of God." Rebounding was big for Medina Christian as well, finishing tied at 35 boards with a Phoenix rotation that featured six rotational players at 6-foot-5 or taller, led by nationally regarded freshman post Bob Da Silva (13 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks), who already is 6-8 and holds offers from Youngstown State and Chattanooga. "That was huge," Dorman said. "People may think we are a soft Christian school, but we work hard and we have grit. I think we showed that. They are athletic, they can shoot, they do it all, so playing that way against this team I think shows that we can compete with almost anybody." Collins came through again two possessions later, canning a pair of free throws to extend the Medina Christian lead to 50-46 with 27 seconds to play. The Knights went 9-for-10 at the line in the fourth quarter, including 6-for-6 in the final 30 seconds. Walgate was perfect on all six of his attempts during that time and and knocked down 14-of-16 overall. The Knights hit 20-of-25 freebies on the night, and a new addition to the coaching staff was credited for helping. "I just want to say our entire program — I am so thankful for my assistant coaches — Coach Rachel (Walgate), but Tom Thompson is an addition to the staff," coach Rob Walgate said. "The amount of knowledge, what he brings to kids and it's another voice. These kids have heard my voice for years and years. They have heard Coach Rachel's (Walgate) voice for years and years. It is another voice that is an established varsity coach that was willing to come in and work with us. The kids love him and we are so much better off because of him." Medina Christian might not have been in that position had the defense not been as stellar as it was in the final quarter. The Knights allowed just six points and held the Phoenix scoreless for more than seven minutes. Da Silva hit a 3-pointer to push Andrews Osborne Academy in front 46-41 45 seconds into the quarter, but the Phoenix did not score again until Zi'Yiere Smith (11 points, 5 rebounds) knocked in a corner trey with seven seconds left. Neither team shot the ball particularly well, but that had more to do with defense than bad shot selection. The Knights hit 15-of-47 (.319) overall and 4-of-21 (.190) from deep, while the Phoenix were 17-for-57 (.298) and 8-for-28 (.286), respectively. Medina Christian got off to a strong start, jumping to a 10-2 lead when Nick Malicoat buried a pair of 3-pointers. The Knights led 18-13 after one. Andrews Osborne Academy started the second with a 14-1 run, but Dorman scored six points during a 12-3 counter to help the Knights go back in front, 31-30, with under 30 seconds until the break. Collins helped set up his fourth quarter heroics by scoring on back-to-back possessions in the third, including a huge trifecta to pull to 42-41. "It was two nights in a row," R.J. Walgate said of his teammate's effort. "I am so proud of this kid — first off for the way he played, but most importantly he sat 11 games last year and didn't get to play in the postseason. He was nothing but positive, so of course he came up big tonight, but it is awesome when I get to see my brother in Christ maintain that positivity. Basketball is awesome, but the person he is I couldn't be happier. He's a great dude." Contact Chad Grant at sports@medina-gazette.com. Medina Christian 54, Andrews Osborne Academy 49 ANDREWS OSBORNE ACADEMY&emsp;13 19 11 6 — 49 MEDINA CHRISTIAN&emsp;18 13 10 13 — 54 Andrews Osborne Academy — Alfonso Fombona Alvarez 0-0-0, Aaron Shoffner 3-0-7, Bob Da Silva 5-2-13, Zi'Yiere Smith 4-1-11, Jackson Burge 1-2-5, Aksels Strods 1-1-4, Alberto Tassani 2-0-5, Alejandro Pera Alegre 0-0-0, Sir Sterling 1-1-4. TOTALS: 17-7-49. Medina Christian — Maddox Tousley 0-0-0, Sam Dorman 6-4-16, R.J. Walgate 2-14-18, Nick Malicoat 2-0-6, Isaac Maletich 2-0-5, Preston Collins 3-2-9, Jaxon Lonsgdorf 0-0-0. TOTALS: 15-20-54. 3-point goals — Smith 2, Burge, DaSilva, Shoffner, Sterling, Strods, Tassani, Malicoat 2, Collin, Maletich. Rebounds — Andrews Osborne Academy 35 (Da Silva 14), Medina Christian 35 (Walgate 14). Assists — Andrews Osborne Academy 10 (Burge, Da Silva, Smith, Strods 2), Medina Christian 5 (Dorman, Walgate 2). Records — Andrews Osborne Academy (1-2), Medina Christian (4-0).