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Sports

Lakewood Rangers Snap 6-Game Losing Skid With Win Over North Olmsted

Lakewood boys shoot lights-out in first quarter, stay tough on defense to finish off Eagles, 80-59.

Nothing like a little home cookin'. 

But it was mostly a little more focus and a little more teamwork that led to a lot more success for the Lakewood Rangers boys basketball team, which stopped its six-game losing skid Tuesday night with a solid 80-59 victory over visiting North Olmsted.

The Rangers also played one of their cleanest games of the season, giving up only four turnovers in the first half.

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“We focused a little more in the pregame, and we had a little more teamwork today,” said senior co-captain Chris Bielopetrovich after the Rangers’ win over the visiting Eagles.

Bielopetrovich started things off right for Lakewood in the first, hitting three 3-pointers before the game was four minutes along. He finished with 15, but his 9 quick points were only the beginning for Lakewood, which was leading North Olmsted 31-11 at the end of the first quarter.

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North Olmsted could not keep pace with the Rangers’ uptempo attack from outside. Lakewood got crisp passing and swarming defense throughout the game.

The Rangers stretched the lead to 28 at halftime, 49-21. Lakewood got big shots in the quarter from senior Dan Mazzeo, sophomore Pete Nelson and junior Jesse Littleton.

In the second half, North Olmsted made a few scoring runs to close the gap, but in the end, suffocating defense and the Rangers’ best shooting effort of the season combined to be too much for the Eagles, who fell to 3-5 on the season. North Olmsted was paced by senior forward Kristian Cross, who led all scorers with 21 points.

Lakewood was led by Mazzeo’s 18 points on 6 three pointers, Nelson’s 16 points, and Bielopetrovich’s 15 points.

*****

During halftime, fans were treated to the athletic stylings of third- and fourth-grade boys hoopsters from the , striving to keep a strong athletic tradition alive in Lakewood.

*****

In case you missed it, an announcement was made about signing up for Summer Ranger Baseball through the Lakewood Rec Department. The program is for Lakewood’s youth ages 4-15. Early-bird signup goes through February (at a discounted price). Regular signup continues through March. Please call Mike Callahan, Athletic Manager at 216-529-4081 for more information or to sign up.

                                Q1          Q2          Q3          Q4          Final

Lakewood           31           18           16           15           80

North Olmsted 11           10           21           17           59

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