ONTARIO – Dunks haven’t been a huge part of the Madison offense so far this season.
But they sure were on Saturday afternoon at the Richland Source NOL-OCC Challenge at Ontario High School. Senior Jake Koehler hammered three thunderous dunks and Madison rallied for a huge second half to pound Bellevue 62-46.
Rams coach Tim Mergel said Koehler’s aggressiveness, he finished with 13 points, is something he’s been aching to see.
“He’s starting to understand he’s a 6-5 kid who can play above the rim when he wants to,” Mergel said. “Every time he attacks the rim he had to think he’s going to dunk it and he did that.
“The second one caught me by surprise because he was one-on-one. But once he threw that one down, I started to think he understands.”
Madison was coming off a tight win at Clear Fork just 18 hours earlier when the took the floor at at Ontario. But the Rams started solidly, taking a 15-11 first-quarter edge on Tyrell Ajian’s trey at the end of the period.
But Bellevue responded in the second quarter, utilizing an 11-0 burst to grab a 27-25 halftime lead.
“We just challenged our guys to put together a strong weekend,” Rams coach Tim Mergel said. “I think that third quarter was our strongest this season.
“We shot ourselves in the foot (early). We weren’t necessarily doing wrong things, we just were missing shots. I think we missed six or seven layups in the first quarter.”
The Rams outscored Bellevue 20-4 in the third period to take control, opening a 45-31 margin heading to the final eight minutes.
“We played a really good first half,” Bellevue coach Ed Rich said. “We did go into the locker room feeling all right … I said ‘Good first half, but these next two minuets are crucial’ for the fact that Madison played last night. If we had jumped on them early that could be a difference maker. But that went the other way.”
Bellevue’s defense and communication fell flat, and Rich’s squad suffered the consequences.
“(The Rams) went to flex offense and ran that. What happened was we changed our defense to switch the flex screens. What communication we had we were too late,” Rich said. “I think Ajian had two or three jumpers off the flex screen.”
Mergel credited Ajian, who scored 15 points in the contest, as the key to his team’s performance.
“He’s a special kid. He controls the game for us, and when he goes we go. Tyrell does a lot of things, but he does just part of it,” Mergel said. “Kyle Jackson (16 points to lead the team) was a monster on the boards tonight. This was as aggressive as he’s ever been. This was definitely a team effort. You could pick out positives from everyone of them.”
Dakota McPeak registered 13 points to lead the Redmen. Owen Hartley followed with 11 points.
Sponsorship: The Richland Source NOL-OCC Challenge wouldn’t be possible without tremendous partners. The NOL-OCC Challenge is presented by Mechanics Bank Be the Change scholarship program in partnership with The Holden Agency, Marco Photo Service and BW3. Supporting sponsors include Olive Garden, North Central State College, The Ohio State University at Mansfield, Rinehart Walters Danner Insurance, Prospering Life Events, Text Loyal, The Vault Wine Bar, Best Buy, and Lantz Star Graphics.
