Big third lifts Monroeville past St. Paul

MONROEVILLE — The past is exactly that. Monroeville senior Derek Ackerman cannot do anything about the time he and his twin brother, Blake, lost from two freak injuries during the football season. And while Blake was ruled out for the season, Derek was able to return in mid-January to the basketball court. When the Eagles hosted St. Paul, he was still in street clothes in a 57-47 win. In the rematch in Norwalk, he was just two games in and played limited minutes in a 44-38 loss. But in Thursday's third meeting, Ackerman made a lasting impact. The Eagles got their typical double-digit scoring efforts from seniors Maverick Myers and Cole Perry. It was Ackerman who complimented the two with 17 points and six rebounds as the Eagles claimed a 69-60 win over the Flyers in a Division VII sectional championship game on Steve Moore Court inside the Monroeville Athletic Complex. The Eagles are winners of 11 in a row and improved to 18-5 with the win. The Firelands Conference champions advance to face Oregon Cardinal Stritch (14-9) in a district semifinal at 6 p.m. on March 5 at Clay High School in Oregon. "It felt amazing to get back out there and have some success with these guys," Ackerman said. "We have a guy who can come out any night and score 20 points, and tonight we had several guys with 15-plus. "But when someone isn't having the best game, we always find someone else who does. Most teams don't have that. But this means everything to be here with this group of guys." Leading 35-25 at halftime, the Eagles limited the Flyers (12-11) to just one field goal in the third quarter. Meanwhile, Myers and Perry opened the second half with two quick baskets, and the Eagles were ahead 40-25 just 1:06 into the third. Landon Fries scored the lone basket of the quarter for the Flyers at the 5:53 mark to make it 40-27. From there, Monroeville closed out the third on a 14-6 scoring run. That included a big basket from Ackerman under the hoop, then Perry dunked in two points with three seconds left on a fast break for a 54-33 lead. "St. Paul was hitting their threes early, but I thought in the second half we did a good job of playing inside out," Monroeville head coach Bob Fries said. "We got the ball inside, and if it wasn't there, we kicked it outside for some shots. And we got a few stops there in that second quarter that definitely helped as well." The Eagles led 58-35, and it appeared the game was headed for a total rout, only for the Flyers to come all the way back to within single digits. Down 58-42, St. Paul went on a 10-2 run in just 2:29 to creep closer. Brady Fritz converted a three-point play, Landon Fries made another 3, and Nate Griffin scored off a steal and layup to make it 60-50 with still 3:23 left in the game. Monroeville was able to answer at the other end, however, when Alec Schafer made his lone basket of the game. His right corner 3 pushed the lead back to 63-50, and the Flyers drew no closer than the final margin in the last minute of the game. "There was a lot of pressure with St. Paul coming back over here," Bob Fries said. "I thought we responded well. But I do think we got a little too high there at the end of the third quarter, and that's partly on me for getting too excited there on Cole's first-ever dunk. That was pretty special, so I wish we weren't as sloppy in the fourth quarter. "But St. Paul was bringing it. We knew they were going to just lie down, and we give credit to Steve (Minor) and his group for that. But it's a great win; I'm really proud of the guys." In the first half, the Eagles played from in front throughout, though the Flyers were able to keep up with them until the final four minutes of the second quarter. The Eagles led 18-12 after one quarter, then Griffin scored on a runner in the lane, and Landon Fries made a 3 from the left wing to make it 18-17 at the 6:44 mark of the second. Myers then answered with a jumper inside the foul line, and Link Schaffer-Paull made an open 3 from the top of the key. Griffin answered with a 3 of his own to make it 23-20, only for Myers to answer with his second triple of the half just 15 seconds later to make it 26-20 with 3:45 left in the half. Casey Fries then made the fourth 3 in a row in the game for the Flyers, but then the Eagles seized momentum. Leading 26-23, Monroeville went on a 9-0 scoring run to open up a 35-23 lead. Ackerman scored twice in a row, including on a missed putback from Perry. On Monroeville's next possession, Perry then converted a three-point play for a 33-23 lead with 1:25 left in the half. Colton Koch capped the run with a basket to the front right of the rim with 1:01 left in the half. St. Paul then stopped a 2:43 scoring drought when Griffin scored with a driving layup to make it a 35-25 deficit at halftime. The Eagles were 12-of-22 shooting in the first half, though the Flyers countered with 10-of-18. "It's tough to win that way with the way that third quarter went, and I think this game felt like a microcosm of our season," Minor said of the Flyers. "If we played the way we did in the fourth quarter earlier in the game, we would have had a better chance. "That's how a lot of our games went this season. We started off OK and played well, but then we stumbled there in the second and third quarters, and they didn't." St. Paul got 21 points and six rebounds from Griffin in the loss, while Landon Fries scored 16 in his final game. After back-to-back FC titles and a district championship last season, the Flyers replaced all five starters from that 20-win team this season. "It could have gotten really out of hand, and our guys got after it and gave themselves a chance," Minor said. "I am certain Monroeville controlled us on the boards and shot a great percentage for the game. They're not the conference champions by accident. Bob is not the Coach of the Year by accident. "They got a nice senior-laden team with a big guy in the middle, and that sounds kind of familiar. That's a good formula to win in our league, and they've done a great job, and I wish them luck next week." Myers finished with 20 points, while Perry had 17 points and seven rebounds for the Eagles. "We're excited to be moving on," Bob Fries said. "No one on the team has had meaningful time in a district game, so we'll start working on Stritch and see if we can keep this going." ST. PAUL (12-11) Nate Griffin 7-5—21; Mason Beatty 1-0—3; Casey Fries 1-0—3; Connor Lindenberger 1-2—4; Isaac Kalizewski 2-3—8; Brady Fritz 1-3—5; Landon Fries 7-0—16. TOTALS 20-13—60. MONREOVILLE (18-5) Maverick Myers 7-2—20; Link Schaffer-Paull 1-1—4; Derek Ackerman 7-3—17; Cole Perry 8-1—17; Caleb Dixon 0-2—2; Colton Koch 2-0—5; Alec Schafer 1-0—3; Aidan Myers 0-1—1. TOTALS 36-10—69. St. Paul 12 13 8 27 — 60 Monroeville 18 17 19 15 — 69 Three-point FGs: (SP) Griffin 2, L. Fries 2, C. Fries, Beatty, Kalizwski; (M) M. Myers 4, Schaffer-Paull; Koch, Schafer.