TOLEDO – Facing a team loaded on talent as well as height and length, losing its tallest player in the post is the last thing any team needs.
Boys basketball coach Mark Gedeon
Unfortunately, as the Ross boys basketball team took to the road to face St. Francis de Sales, the Little Giants had to do so without 6-foot-4 forward Bryce McKinstry, who was out with an injury.
Predictably, the Knights used their height advantage to take a 63-46 win over the Little Giants.
“We gave up a lot of height in this ball game, we didn’t have Bryce McKinstry due to injury, and their length hurt us in the first half,” Ross coach Mark Gedeon said. “With their offensive rebounding, they had seven offensive rebounds for 15 points. That really sort of set the tone. We held them to only two more second-chance points, but their length forced a couple turnovers on us.”
The Little Giants stayed close early, trailing by just three points after the first quarter, 15-12, before the Knights outscored Ross by 11 in the second to go into halftime with a 35-21 lead.
“But we kept fighting, we kept closing it back to nine, but just couldn’t quite get over the hump and they finished up with an 8-2 run to end the game,” Gedeon said. “Our kids played hard and we have some good things to build on there, against a very good opponent who beat us by 37 last time.”
Bryce Root led Ross with 16 points on seven field goals, all of which came in the first three quarters.
“Bryce had a very focused game,” Gedeon said. “He worked hard on his positioning and we got him the ball in situations where he could shoot the ball or go in the paint and use the moves that he has. I’ve always said that Bryce, as a basketball player, can do a lot of things for us.”
The loss drops the Little Giants’ record to 3-9 overall, 1-7 in the TRAC. But things don’t get any easier for Ross as they travel to St. John’s on Friday. The Titans are 11-2, 7-0 and ranked No. 5 the state in Division I.
St. Francis 63, Fremont Ross 46
FR|12—9—15—10 46
SF|15—20—12—16 63
ROSS (46)
Anderson 1 2-2 5; Sewell 1 0-0 2; Heidelburg 1 3-4 5; Root 7 0-0 16; Campbell 4 0-0 10; Lewis 4 0-0 8. Totals, 18 5-6 46.
ST. FRANCIS (63)
McNeal 4 1-2 10; Wells 3 1-4 8; Gallagher 1 0-0 3; D. Swerlein 5 2-2 13; Kozak 3 0-0 7; Ansara 1 0-0 2; A. Swerlein 1 0-0 3; Harris 6 0-0 14. Totals 24 7-12 63.
3-pointers: Ross, 5 (Root 2; Campbell 2; Anderson 1); SF, 8 (Harris 2; McNeal; Wells; Gallagher; Kozak; A. Swerlein; D. Swerlein).