Boys basketball: Medina Christian gets milestone win over East Canton

MONTVILLE TWP. — With R.J. Walgate and Sam Dorman leading the charge Wednesday night, the Medina Christian boys basketball team came away with a landmark victory. The Knights ran away from East Canton in the fourth quarter for a 61-49 non-league win, their third straight in six nights. The win also gave Medina Christian (11-8) its most wins in a season since joining the OHSAA for the 2023-24 school year. With one more victory, the Knights can clinch their first winning season since going 13-10 in 2021-22. "It's a big thing to come from not being in the OHSAA to having an 11-win season in three years," Dorman said. "I think it's something to be proud of, and I want to shout out all of the guys that put in work to get us here." The 6-foot-5 Dorman tallied 13 points, five rebounds and one assist. He scored six points in a 13-1 run early in the fourth quarter that gave the Knights a 56-40 lead with 3:09 left. The 6-7 Walgate led his team with 17 points, 11 rebounds and six assists despite another physical battle that had him emerge from the locker room after the game with bandages on his bloody hands. "I looked to my dad (coach Rob Walgate) and said, 'It wasn't pretty, but we'll take it,'" Walgate said. "It wasn't a great one for us in terms of collectively struggling to take care of the ball a little bit (11 turnovers). I struggled to finish, but we'll always take victories. We're going to celebrate this one." The players had another reason to cheer when the coaching staff informed them they were rewarding the Knights for their win by canceling practice today. East Canton (3-17) lost its 12th game in a row despite getting 18 points and five rebounds from Owen McCrosky and 16 points and five assists from Rayshawn Heard. The Hornets last led 4-2 just over one minute in but rallied to tie at 36 with 3:43 left in the third. East Canton has lost eight games by fewer than 10 points, including going 0-3 in overtime. "This is a team that hangs around," Dorman said of the Hornets. "They hit a few shots, and that's just what they do. It felt nice to get a win." Leading 43-37 after three quarters, Medina Christian switched to a 1-3-1 zone that aggressively double-teamed whenever the ball got thrown to the sideline. The change forced East Canton coach Ryan McGonagle to call timeout, but that couldn't stop a nearly four-minute stretch without a field goal. "We found a defense that was working," Dorman said. "We were finally getting some pressure on the 3-point shooters (McCrosky and Heard), so that worked out for us." The Knights were extremely well balanced in their seven-man rotation behind Walgate and Dorman. Isaac Maletich had eight points and two rebounds, while Nick Malicoat had eight points Preston Collins seven. Walgate credited assistant coaches Tom Thompson and Rachel Walgate, his mom, for getting the Knights pumped up heading into the fourth quarter. "The message was, knowing these guys lost 11 straight, we didn't want to let them hang around," he said. "I just tried to tell them, 'Let's finish strong.'" Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Medina Christian 61, East Canton 49 EAST CANTON 15 9 13 12 — 49 MEDINA CHRISTIAN 18 10 15 18 — 61 East Canton — Rayshawn Heard 6-2-16, Aiden Kandel 1-0-3, Eli Starnes 1-1-4, Owen McCrosky 6-2-18, Ayden Stephens 3-1-8, Rocco Stefanick 0-0-0, Frank Katich 0-0-0, Alex Clark 0-0-0. TOTALS: 17-6-49. Medina Christian — Preston Collins 3-0-7, Isaac Maletich 3-0-8, Sam Dorman 4-4-13, R.J. Walgate 6-4-17, Maddox Tousley 1-1-4, Nick Malicoat 3-0-8, Jaxon Longsdorf 1-2-4. TOTALS: 21-11-61. 3-point goals — McCrosky 4, Heard 2, Stephens, Starnes, Kandel, Maletich 2, Malicoat 2, Tousley, Collins, Walgate, Dorman. Rebounds — Medina Christian 25 (Walgate 11), East Canton 16 (McCrosky 5). Assists — Medina Christian 11 (Walgate 6), East Canton 10 (Heard 5). Records — East Canton (3-17), Medina Christian (11-8). Junior varsity — Medina Christian 45, East Canton 38 (M: Troy Reidl 16).