Mustangs Run Past Rangers, 86-58

In the first quarter of Tuesday's non-conference match up with Maple Heights, the Lakewood High School boys' basketball team left it all out on the floor. The only problem was, there were three more quarters to play.

At the end of the first quarter, Lakewood trailed by a score of 15 to 11. That's about as close as it got. The Mustangs took home the victory, 86-58.

In the early going, the Rangers were paced by sophomore guard, Pete Nelson, who had two big shots, and had a healthy block to help keep it close.

Then, in the words of Maple Heights coach Phil Schmook, "We started making shots, our guys dominated the glass, and we defended very well," he said.

When the first-half buzzer sounded, the Rangers were down 43 to 26.

The Mustangs were led by four three-pointers in the second quarter — three of them by Remond Huston, who led all scorers with 25 points. He went four of seven from three-point range, and three of five from the free-throw line. 

"They hit shots, we didn't hit shots. It's simple," said Lakewood coach Phil Argento. 

In the third, things went from bad to worse for the Rangers, who were outscored 27-7 and trailed 70 to 33. A few things went wrong during the stretch.

"We had too many turnovers, they made a run and didn't look back," Argento said. "Our guys didn't do a good job of recognizing situations, and when that happens, turnovers and easy buckets happen."  

Midway through the fourth quarter, the Rangers found their stride, going on a 12-0 run to close the gap to 27, but it wouldn't get closer than that.

Both Nelson and Argento agreed that the run was a case of too little, too late. Nelson led the way throughout the game for Lakewood, along with 10 points from senior Chris Bielopetrovich. 

Through three games — two of them Ranger losses — Nelson has led the team in scoring. "It's something that I work very hard at," said the sophomore and returning varsity letterman.

He said he knows there is still room for improvement.

"We didn't do a very good job boxing out," Nelson said. "This was not at all our best effort, not a total team effort. We need to get back to work tomorrow, and get ready for Rocky River next Tuesday." The Pirates come to Lakewood to take on the Rangers next Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. 

Argento is hoping to see more of what happened midway through the fourth quarter, with the Rangers showing that they can shoot and get up and down the floor with anybody.

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At halftime, fans were treated to an exhibition game between two teams of 3rd and 4th grade boys from the Lakewood Recreation Center. Lakewood coach Phil Argento works extensively with all of the basketball programming at the Rec Center. After this game, he knows he needs to continue to work with the older hoopsters in Lakewood, too.