Boys basketball: Nordonia hammers Wadsworth in second half

WADSWORTH — The Wadsworth boys basketball team left its mojo in the locker room during halftime of a Suburban League National Conference contest against Nordonia. The Grizzlies returned to the court with less than one minute left in halftime Tuesday and were slow to adapt during a game-changing run in a 71-61 loss. Wadsworth (4-11, 0-10), which started the season 4-4, surrendered a 16-0 run that actually began with a 3-pointer by Landen Ellis just before the end of the first half. The Grizzlies fell behind 50-31 on another triple by Bryce Smith and never recovered. Landon Oaks (14 points, 6 rebounds) snapped the skid with a bucket with 2:26 left in the third quarter. It was the Grizzlies' first score in more than six minutes. "I think it's just about coming off with a lot of competitive spirit, and I think we lacked that at times tonight," said junior guard Kyle Schmeltzer, who had 13 points, three rebounds and an assist. "Out of the second half, we weren't playing with a competitive edge at all. "It's about being ready to play and having that fire at all times." It was Wadsworth's seventh straight loss overall and the 11th consecutive in SL National play, dating to last season. "We're putting in a lot of work together, but we just need to be able to connect," said junior guard Lucas McDermitt, who had a team-high 15 points, three rebounds and two assists. "We want to win, but after a certain point we seem to lose that competitive spirit (when we fall behind)." Jimmy Galvin (12 points, 2 rebounds, assist) rounded out the scoring leaders. Vinny Terranova, Wadsworth's only starter with fewer than 12 points, was a great facilitator with five assists. That production was no match for the Nordonia guard combo of Jason Janosek and Hudson Funk, who each scored 20 points. Janosek added five assists and four rebounds, while Funk had five rebounds and three assists. Janosek and Funk combined for seven of the Knights' 12 3-pointers as Nordonia outscored the Grizzlies 36-18 from beyond the arc. Bryce Smith added 12 points off the bench. "The third quarter was really rough," Schmeltzer said. "We couldn't get stops. We weren't executing, and we weren't aggressive on offense." The victory gave the Knights (8-7, 5-5) back-to-back wins after losing four in a row. Nordonia led 60-36 when Funk hit a 3-pointer with 6:31 left before Wadsworth began to chip away. The Grizzlies came out of the gate hot, jumping to a 10-2 lead just 2:28 in behind 3-pointers by Oaks and McDermitt and four points by Galvin. They were unable to maintain the momentum, as Nordonia scored 18 of the next 22 points to take a 20-14 lead early in the second quarter. "We came out and were confident in ourselves," Schmeltzer said. "I think we can lose that confidence at times. When we play confident, we have guys that can knock down shots, get downhill and defend. We've got a good team when everyone is playing confidently and together. That happened at the beginning of the game." Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Nordonia 71, Wadsworth 61 NORDONIA 18 19 15 19 — 71 WADSWORTH 14 17 5 25 — 61 Nordonia — Jamiere Davis 2-0-5, Landen Ellis 3-2-9, Max Poulin 1-0-2, Hudson Funk 7-3-20, Jason Janosek 7-2-20, Isaac Rose 1-0-3, Ethan Kromyar 0-0-0, Landon Root 0-0-0, Jamison Elerick 0-0-0, Kayden Borden 0-0-0, Bryce Smith 5-0-12, Brady Arbutina 0-0-0, Brayden Myers 0-0-0. TOTALS: 26-7-71. Wadsworth — Vinny Terranova 0-0-0, Landon Oaks 6-1-14, Jimmy Galvin 4-4-12, Lucas McDermitt 5-2-15, Kyle Schmeltzer 6-0-13, Payton Salzwimmer 1-0-2, Roy Hoertz 0-0-0, Henry Hoover 2-0-5, Isaac Byers 0-0-0, Jack Allen 0-0-0. TOTALS: 24-7-61. 3-point goals — Janosek 4, Funk 3, Smith 2, Rose, Ellis, McDermitt 3, Schmeltzer, Hoover, Oaks. Rebounds — Nordonia 28 (Ellis 6), Wadsworth 24 (Oaks 6). Assists — Nordonia 17 (Janosek 5), Wadsworth 12 (Terranova 5). Records — Nordonia (8-7, 5-5), Wadsworth (4-11, 0-10). Junior varsity — Wadsworth 60, Nordonia 33 (W: Henry Hoover 22).