EASTLAKE—John Peter Dragas scored a game-high 26 points and Dimitri Dragas added 21 in leading Madison to a 79-71 victory over host North on Friday.
The Blue Streaks led wire-to-wire but held off a Ranger run late in the fourth to seal their win.
“Credit to them, we knew their style and we knew what they wanted to do but if they’re going to score like that, they’re tough to beat,” said North coach Matt Vespa of the Blue Streaks. “They just scored 96 the other night so I guess us holding them to (79) is good.”
Dmitri Dragas scored 14 of his 21 in the first quarter and John Peter Dragas added nine points in the opening frame.
North countered with nine points from Sean Register, Jr. and seven from Jaheim Turney to stick to within 26-21 of the Blue Streaks heading into the second period.
Help Ohio Varsity Tell More Stories
Ohio Varsity is independently owned and provides local coverage of high school athletes, teams and communities throughout Northeast Ohio.
One-time and monthly donations available through PayPal.
Every time the Rangers cut the Blue Streak lead to two possessions or less, Madison would respond with a run, often sparked by a Dragas 3-pointer.
Register, who led the Rangers with 25 points, sparked a fourth-quarter rally with nine points. Kyle Randle scored five of his 17 in the fourth and Turney also added a big 3-pointer and another bucket in North’s final push.
Turney also scored in double figures with 17 points. Mo Morgan contributed with four points, Dylan McDonald and Anthony Gallo both scored three, and Noah Adams finished with two.
“If you told me last year that this is where we’d be at in the process, I would be very happy with it,” Vespa said. “We’re in games and we’re competitive, and we’re looking like a real basketball team and program. In the moment, we’re disappointed because you want more but when you look at the macro, kind of take a step back, the guys played hard against a good team. We were right there but we have to make more plays at the end and start winning some of these.”
The Rangers dropped to 2-6 on the year but Vespa is pleased with the progress he sees each game.
“We’re doing some good things,” Vespa said. “I told the guys in the locker room afterward, the hardest part of this process is going from not being in games to being in games and the next step in the process is figuring out how to win those games. It’s great that we’re in games in the last few minutes but how do we make those extra couple of plays to put them away? That’s the hardest step. Once we get there, we’ll be OK, and I know it’s a cliché but we’re going to keep working at it and we’re seeing the progress.”
