Willoughby South put an end to a five-game skid Saturday, rolling past visiting Ravenna, 69-42, in a nonconference game that was effectively decided in the opening minutes.
“We’ve been playing some good basketball offensively,” said South coach Doug Barber. “It’s been a little bit of a struggle, but the hoop opened up for us tonight. We were able to throw some shots in and beat the Ravens.”
Senior Brady Shazivari made sure the Rebels (3-9) had breathing room early, scoring 11 of his game-high 21 points in the first quarter as South surged to a 19-5 lead. Shazivari buried three 3-pointers in the opening period as the Rebels never trailed.
“He got us going from the outside,” Barber said. “He made three 3-pointers in the first quarter. That kind of set the tone, and then we kind of fed off of that momentum. Then we got our defense going. We were able to create and cause turnovers against them.”
South maintained control throughout, matching its first-quarter output with another 19 points in the second to take a 38-16 halftime lead. Jaiden Lamb added 11 points, while Josh Jensen and Malick Sy chipped in nine apiece as the Rebels balanced their scoring across the lineup.
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Rakee Drew and DaRian Finnie both contributed to the win with six points, Timmy Dunn added four, Jackson Klouda scored three, and Kayden Johnson finished with one.
Defensively, South focused on limiting Ravenna’s top threat and forcing mistakes with pressure.
“They have that kid, (CJ) Ross, and we had a couple of game films on them where he scored 28 and 32 points,” Barber said. “We were able to create turnovers with our run-and-jump defense. We denied him on the defensive end, and he had only nine points going into the fourth quarter, and by then, it was already over.”
For Shazivari, the win provided a needed boost after a difficult stretch.
“It feels great,” Shazivari said. “This win will definitely boost our confidence as we go into our conference games. I think we have a talented group of guys, and getting into the groove of things how we did today, will be crucial for us.”
South’s energy never dipped, something Shazivari credited for the Rebels’ ability to pull away and stay aggressive on both ends.
“I think it came down to our energy on both the defensive and offensive side,” Shazivari said. “We were able to force a lot of turnovers out of them. On offense, everyone played aggressive, and we were able to get the shots that we wanted. We didn’t let off the gas pedal, and that ultimately is what got us the win.”
Shazivari said confidence fueled his hot start.
“Just having confidence in my shot,” he said. “I’ve been getting a lot of shots up in practice, and just trusting in my ability to shoot was the key. I saw that their defense allowed for me to get many open shots, and I just made sure I was in position to knock them down.”
South travels to Chardon on Tuesday.
