Boys basketball: Wadsworth snaps eight-game slide with win over Firestone

WADSWORTH — The formula was simple for the Wadsworth boys basketball team Monday in a non-league matchup with Firestone. When the Grizzlies took care of the ball, things went great. When they didn't, things went wrong in a big way. Wadsworth had more of the former and snapped its eight-game losing skid with a 63-54 win. Behind a spectacular first quarter from Vinny Terranova (9 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals) and Jimmy Galvin (9, 4, 2, 1), the Grizzlies (5-12) raced to a 19-3 lead. Terranova sparked the start, scoring seven points and dishing out an assist during an 11-0 run to begin the night. "I thought we just needed to come out strong tonight and get a team win," he said. "We had eight losses in a row, so we really needed to start strong and get the energy going to set the tone for the whole game." Terranova's assist was finished by Galvin, who scored eight points during the quarter, including six of the Grizzlies' final eight. During the first quarter, the Grizzlies committed just a single turnover, notched assists on seven of their nine made shots and shot 9-for-13 (.692) from the floor. The second quarter was the antithesis of the first. Wadsworth had nine turnovers and two assists but still shot the ball well when it wasn't giving it to the Falcons (4-12). The Grizzlies were 5-for-8 (.625) shooting but were outscored 28-13 as Firestone rallied to 32-31 at the break. "We just have to be smarter with the ball," said Wadsworth point guard Kyle Schmeltzer, who had 14 points, seven assists, two steals and just a pair of turnovers. "We were trying to make some long passes and just playing with the ball a little bit too much. We have guys that can take care of the ball, and we know we all can take care of the ball. It is just about doing it consistently." The Falcons carried that momentum into the early stages of the third quarter and led for the first time, 35-32, with 5:17 remaining. The 14-0 run spanned the final 1:43 of the first half and initial 3:25 of the third before the Grizzlies got back on track. That's when Schmeltzer had seen enough. The junior point guard put his team on his back and provided a much-needed spark, scoring six straight Wadsworth points to push his team in front 38-35. "We knew coming into halftime that we had given them a lot of confidence because they had that run," he said. "The start of the third quarter was a little rough. We just had to go down, get stops and get timely buckets. We needed to separate ourselves and we wanted to be up 10 going into the fourth." The fourth quarter belonged to sophomore Landon Oaks (19 points, 8 rebounds, assist, 2 steals, block). Oaks scored 15 points in the period, including a dunk off a nice assist from Payton Salzwimmer. "We were a lot more patient," Oaks said. "When we got those timely stops, we were able to get buckets. It was all just very timely." The 6-foot-6 center missed his first four attempts at the line but made the Falcons pay for intentionally fouling him three times in the final 1:14. Oaks converted 5-of-6. "You don't want to shoot that bad from the line," Oaks said. "I just kind of tried to step up and shoot with confidence on the next one. We are all trying to play our hardest because we've been in a lot of dogfights lately, and we really wanted to finish this one. I think we did a good job in the second half of weathering their run and making a run of our own."The Grizzlies were just 4-for-15 at the line without Oaks' effort in the final minutes. Outside of the rough second quarter, the Grizzlies committed just six turnovers and outscored Firestone 50-26. "This win has to set the tone for the rest of the year," Terranova said. "We just have to keep it going from here." Wadsworth finished the game 24-for-47 (.511) from the floor and 6-for-15 (.400) from long range. The Falcons were led by center Payton Spencer-Jackson, who had a double-double of 18 points and 15 boards, and 13 points each from Derrick Kruger and reserve D.J. Jones. Contact Chad Grant at sports@medina-gazette.com. Wadsworth 63, Firestone 54 FIRESTONE&emsp;3 28 7 16 — 54 WADSWORTH&emsp;19 13 11 20 — 63 Firestone — Nate Plas 0-0-0, Jordan Dampier 1-0-2, Payton Spencer-Jackson 7-4-18, Hassan Anderson 1-0-3, Derrick Kruger 5-1-13, D.J. Jones 4-4-13, Reggie Reddick 1-2-5. TOTALS: 19-11-54. Wadsworth — Vinny Terranova 4-0-9, Grady Hughes 3-0-9, Landon Oaks 7-5-19, Lucas McDermitt 0-0-0, Kyle Schmeltzer 5-3-14, Jimmy Galvin 4-1-9, Payton Salzwimmer 1-0-3, Ray Hoertz 0-0-0, Isaac Byers 0-0-0, Jack Allen 0-0-0, Jamison Marshall 0-0-0. TOTALS: 24-9-63. 3-point goals — Kruger 2, Anderson, Jones, Reddick, Hughes 3, Salzwimmer, Schmeltzer, Terranova. Rebounds — Firestone 25 (Spencer-Jackson 15), Wadsworth 26 (Oaks 8). Assists — Firestone 10 (Anderson, Jones 3), Wadsworth 15 (Schmeltzer 7). Records — Firestone (4-12), Wadsworth (5-12). Junior varsity — Wadsworth 51, Firestone 42 (W: Marshall 19).