MADISON TOWNSHIP — If ever a team was primed for a letdown, it was Ontario.
The Warriors, however, wouldn’t hear of it.
Five players scored in double figures as Ontario rolled to a 67-44 win over Madison on Saturday.
The victory capped an emotionally draining four-day stretch for Ontario (17-0). The Warriors, ranked fifth in Division II in the most recent Associated Press state poll, stunned Division II No. 1 Norwalk on Wednesday, ending the Truckers 57-game regular season winning streak. Ontario then hit the road Friday night and had to grind out a 71-56 win at Bellevue.
It might have been easy to overlook the Rams (4-12) but any concerns Ontario coach Joe Balogh may have had were put to bed early. The Warriors outscored Madison 23-7 in the first quarter and cruised from there.
“This is a veteran group,” Balogh said. “They were happy and it was neat to get all the accolades (after beating Norwalk), but once we got to practice on Thursday I thought we were really focused on going to Bellevue. Once we got back from Bellevue, the kids understood the routine. They were focused and came over here ready to play.”
Ontario spread the wealth early as four of the five starters scored in the opening minutes of the first quarter.
“The best basketball teams are the most unselfish teams and that is probably one of the most unselfish teams I’ve seen,” Madison coach Tim Mergel said. “They don’t settle for shots. They make you work until they find a great shot. They don’t force anything.
“They’ve got two guys who handle the ball and get into the paint and break you down and they’ve got guys on the perimeter who can knock it down. Then they have (forward) Cameron Mack and when he gets his hands on the ball you have to be prepared for anything.”
The Rams made things interesting in the second quarter, but could never whittle Ontario’s advantage to single figures.
“We wanted to come here and get a good lead and try to put it away early,” said Ontario guard Lenell Shelby. “We are at our best when we get everyone involved.
“Coach Balogh always says to play within yourself and don’t try to make the great play. Just stick to the basics and do what you are capable of.”
The Warriors pushed their lead to 21 on a Tyler Boatwright steal and layup midway through the third quarter, but the Rams wouldn’t go away. Madison closed the period on a 7-3 run and trailed 53-36 going to the fourth quarter.
“We had a couple opportunities where we got the lead to 16 or 18 and we thought we could really put them away, but it just never happened,” Balogh said. “They play in a tough enough league that if you let them hang around and they get some shots to go, goofy things can happen.
“It was one of those things that it would scare you if they got it under 10.”
The Rams cut Ontario’s lead to 57-43 early in the fourth but back-to-back 3-pointers by reserve guard Paul Homan sealed the deal. A 6-foot junior, Homan scored 13 points and connected on three treys. Mack matched Homan with 13, while Boatwright had 11 and Shelby and Brad Garverick each had 10.
“That’s good to see,” Balogh said of the balanced scoring. “Paul was good for us against Bellevue and he was good for us again tonight, as was Bradley Garverick.
“You get that kind of play out of those two guys, it gives us a lot more depth and balance. We become a hard team to defend.”
Bryce Luckie led Madison with 12 points. Coy Vantilburg had 10, while Tyrell Ajian added nine and Matt McClain chipped in with seven.
In junior varsity action, Ontario survived a potential game-winning shot by Madison’s Jesse Weightman as time expired to remain unbeaten with a 36-35 win. Andrew Rathburn led the Warriors with 12 points while Corey Thomas added 11. Weightman led the Rams with 13 points.
Ontario returns to action Wednesday, visiting Sandusky, before hosting Shelby on Friday. The Rams are at West Holmes on Friday and at Lexington on Saturday.
