CHESTERLAND–West Geauga connected on 11 3-pointers on the way to a 69-41 win over visiting Madison on Saturday.
The Wolverines held a 22-18 lead after the first quarter then caught fire in the second to take a 41-21 lead into the break.
“We just had to get back to our principles; we were giving up the middle way too much,” said West Geauga head coach Micah Young. “(Madison) has shooters. (Brendan Titman) hit three 3-pointers on drive and kick. We did a much better job keeping guys out of the middle in the second and fourth quarters, limiting back cuts and rebounding.”
Both teams got off to a quick start from long-range off the opening tip, with Titman drilling a 3-pointer. West Geauga responded with a Landon Lear drive-and-kick to Colin Whiting.
Madison’s Dom Magda responded with a corner 3-pointer but Lear answered with an and-one at the other end for an 18-12 advantage.
Whiting polished off a strong 10-point first quarter with a rebound and coast-to-coast finish followed by a bucket plus a foul for another and-one.
Finn Keenan buried his second 3-pointer of the first half in the second quarter, and Whiting pitched in with four more points for the Wolverines.
Lear connected on an in-rhythm pull-up 3-pointer in transition before knocking down a step-back buzzer-beating shot from downtown to close out the half.
Landon Tomco got going in the third quarter with six points for Madison as the Blue Streaks outscored West Geauga 16-10 in the frame, at one point cutting its 20-point deficit down to just nine.
The Wolverines responded in the fourth quarter with a big 18-4 run powered by a pair of Keenan 3-pointers, four points from Whiting, and a Tyler Fink triple.
West Geauga was efficient from the field converting on 24-of-42 shots from the floor with 11 threes.
“When you see one guy knocking down shots, other guys feed off it,” Young said. “Getting stops and stringing them together leads to good offense. When we started getting stops, our offense opened up because of that.”
Three different West Geauga players scored in double figures.
“We have people on this team who can score the ball,” said Lear, a senior guard. “When they’re scoring the ball, it makes it pretty easy, especially when we’re playing pretty good defense.”
The Wolverines were coming off a 62-48 win over Kenston on Friday evening, which could have presented a challenge, but West Geauga rose above it for a 2-0 start.
“We started a little slow defensively,” Young said. “We had to create our own energy on defense today. I love the way our guys competed on both ends. We gave up 48 points to a Kenston team that was averaging 70 points coming in and gave up 41 to Madison, who scored 65 in their first game. It all starts on the defensive end.”
Lear led all scorers with 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting with four 3-pointers, Whiting connected on 9-of-16 shots for 21 points with three blocks, and Keenan shot 6-of-7 with five 3-pointers for 17 points.
Titman led Madison with 15 points, and Magda pitched in with eight.
The Wolverines are off to another good start and will soon bout with their down-the-road rival Chagrin Falls, who’s off to a good start in its own right.
It is one of the many games circled on West Geauga’s schedule and the first big test of the young season.
“We have to have two good days of practice to come in and beat Chagrin Falls,” coach Young said of the mindset. “We wanted to take a step forward today to get ready for them. It’s always the biggest game of the year. Our goal is to beat Chagrin Falls both times, and it won’t be easy. Chagrin is very well coached; they’re tough, but we still have to focus on one game at a time. We’re looking forward to Wednesday, and I’m sure they are too.”
Madison visits Eastlake North on December 9 while West Geauga hosts Chagrin Falls on December 11.
