John Bruce, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
JACKSON — Guess who’s back.
Thanks to a dynamic second half, North Adams will have a chance to defend its district crown on a stage where it’s felt the most comfortable.
After a back-and-forth first half that finished tied at 31, the Green Devils exploded for a 26-9 third quarter advantage to run away from Rock Hill with a 72-59 victory in a Division VI district semifinal on Wednesday.
“We got out early, but kind of relaxed and slowed down once we were ahead 8-2,” North Adams’ Breestin Schweickart said. “They started hitting shots, getting offensive rebounds and we weren’t really boxing out on anybody. [North Adams] Coach [Austin McCormick] was telling us during halftime that we’re the experienced group and we needed to play with that dog mentality like we usually do and play our game.”
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
The teams traded leads throughout the first half. NA got a quick start as Konnor Rogers used his quick hands for a pair of steals around mid-court that led to runouts for Rogers, Connor Young and Schweickart.
The Redmen answered with a pair of interior layups from Izaak Cox, before Rylan Barker rang from downtown to draw the Redmen even.
Rock Hill took an early lead in the second and would hold onto it for much of the quarter, due to some hot shooting from the outside.
Barker knocked down a trio of triples, while Stephen Ison and Yaden Bailey also buried a 3-pointer each to keep Rock Hill in a narrow lead.
However, a late three-point play from Carson Osborne tied the game for the Green Devils to take a small sliver of momentum into the locker room.
“We’ve been playing together since we were 3-4 years old in the little leagues, so we’ve all grown up together,” Schweickart said. “The chemistry is just there, we know each other inside and outside, and that makes things easier on the court.”
Coming out of the locker room was a completely different set of Green Devils.
All five starters scored for NA before Rock Hill was able to get on the board. 3-balls from Osborne and Young, along with drives from Schweikart, Rogers and Jayce Rothwell pushed the Green Devils out to a comfortable lead that they would only build on from there.
Through three quarters, North Adams held a 57-40 edge that would eventually grow to as large as 61-40 with 6:58 to play as it cruised to the end with a victory in its back pocket.
“Our motto is ‘Family’, that’s what we’re all about,” Young said. “We trust one another to make the right plays like making the extra pass and stretching the floor to get the best shot possible.”
Schweickart finished with a game-high 25 points to lead the Green Devils, followed by Young with 16 points. Osbourne added 13 points while Rothwell chipped in 12 points.
Rock Hill was led in scoring by Ison with 17 points, Cox added 16 points and Barker chipped in 11 points alongside five assists.
As Rock Hill’s season comes to an end, North Adams return to action at 2 p.m. on Sunday at Ohio University’s Convocation Center against fellow Adams County rival, Peebles, who defeated Huntington to move on.
“We have to continue working on our defensive rebounding,” Schweickart said. “It’s all about the little details like finding a body and boxing that player out. It’s easy to get lazy and lose your man, which leads to offensive rebounds. We’re undersized, so it takes all of us to get the job done.”
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