ONTARIO — It was Madison’s third game in five days, but a tough loss to rival Lexington on Friday was all the motivation the Rams needed on Saturday.
Madison took control early and then held off a Bellevue rally to claim a 78-68 win during the third Richland Source Challenge at Ontario High School.
“When you come off a (54-46) loss to Lex, where we feel like everything we did, we controlled, it’s easy to come out and try to get that taste out of you mouth,” Madison coach Tim Mergel said. “Last night was a rough one. It’s still sticking with me. We shot the ball poorly, we weren’t very aggressive because we got beat up on the glass.
“The best way to get rid of that taste in your mouth is to go out and play well, which we did.”
The win improved Madison’s record to 4-3, while Bellevue slipped to 3-2.
FURIOUS FINISH: Madison led by nine at the half (32-23) and increased that lead to 53-37 with 2:31 left in the third quarter. That’s when the Redmen went on a 14-6 spurt, led by nine points from junior guard Trey Ruhlman, to cut the deficit to eight entering the final quarter.
The Redmen continued to attack with a full-court press in the fourth quarter and trimmed Madison’s lead to 64-59 with 4:49 remaining.
That’s when Ruhlman (28 points) went out with an ankle injury, taking away any Bellevue chances with him. Madison outscored the Redmen 14-9 over the final minutes to seal the win.
Bellevue coach Ed Rich said Ruhlman’s injury hurt his team, but said there was more to the loss.
“We expected to come out (tonight) and be the team with more energy,” Rich said. “They played two games against two good teams this week.
“I thought we would come out and really get up and down. But we came out sluggish.”
Madison had four players in double figures, led by Kyle Jackson. The 6-foot-6 senior, who had 26 points in the loss to Lexington, scored 28 against Bellevue. Senior Mason Campbell added 18, sophomore Tyler Tackett had 13 and senior Shamir Brown had 10.
“Better shooting cures all ill ills,” Mergel said. “They were sending some pressure at us and I thought we were timid at first. But the kids responded well. We got into the paint and when we didn’t get there, we had some kick-out shots.
“Tyler is going to have those games where teams aren’t going to notice him whole lot because of the attention Mason brings and the attention Kyle brings and Shamir when he is knocking down some shots. Tyler is going to have to step up and fill that void. He does a nice job for us.”
Sophomore Caleb Marshall finished with 12 for Bellevue, the only player other than Ruhlman to finish in double figures.
UP NEXT: Madison hosts Clear Fork on Friday. Bellevue plays at Shelby that same evening.
