MEDINA — Friday was one of those nights when Jon Teske was the alpha dog.
The 7-foot-1 Medina center was everywhere, connecting on 3-pointers, mid-range jumpers, baby hooks and dunks while blocking shots, grabbing rebounds and even running the fastbreak a couple times.
Medina’s Jon Teske shoots over Strongsville’s Tyler Jamison during the first quarter. (RON SCHWANE / GAZETTE)
Toss in strong support from the beta dogs and the Bees crushed Strongsville 60-31 in their best all-around performance of the young season.
Teske had 22 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, four blocks and two steals in the Greater Cleveland Conference game. The Michigan recruit’s presence also was a key role as to why the previously undefeated Mustangs (4-1, 1-1) shot 12-for-57 (.211) from the floor.
“(Strongsville’s) a very good team, so we just wanted to come out and play good defense,” Teske said. “We know that when we play good defense, we have a good offense and that translates into wins.”
Teske getting half-court touches was a priority for Medina (3-0, 2-0), especially when coach Chris Hassinger figured out Strongsville wasn’t double-teaming. The Bees didn’t settle on forcing the ball to the block, either, as Teske also popped to the high post and 3-point arc, where he was 2-for-4.
The rest of the Bees followed suit and ball movement was crisp. Point guard Ben Geschke had 10 points (5-of-9 shooting) and three assists — Hassinger was especially pleased with the junior — Luke Schaefer added six points, six rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a nifty left-footed spin move and twitchy-quick sophomore backup Colin Szumski pumped in a career-high 10 points.
“Efficient” was a good word to describe Medina, which shot 7-for-12, 6-for-13, 8-for-15 and 6-for-13 by quarter for a .509 percentage overall. The Bees only made 3-of-9 3-pointers and didn’t make a free throw until 7:36 was left, but that hardly mattered against a Strongsville team that, other than 6-7 center Tyler Jamison (2 points on 1-of-12 shooting, 7 rebounds, 4 blocks), was skittish against Teske.
“My teammates were just finding me here and there, and when they give it to me I’m going to try to score,” Teske said. “But if I get a double or something, I’ll kick it out and find the open shots.”
Strongsville entered play with a reputation for offensive balance. That technically held true Friday, as Jacob Yezbak and backup Moe Nofal had six points apiece and Jimmy Persarchick and Mark Orszycki each added five.
The defense of Medina was reminiscent of the surprise run to the Copley Division I District championship last season. Again the plan revolved around Teske, as Geschke, Schaefer, Szumski, Brian Moran and Jackson Sartain played in-your-grill style beyond the 3-point line, daring the Mustangs to drive into the teeth of Teske’s massive wingspan.
Strongsville took a 6-2 lead, but Teske immediately answered with seven points during an 11-0 run. The Bees then went on a 9-2 spurt to make it 24-12 — Teske had four points — and a 10-0 run to begin the second half in which Teske had six points and an assist.
The rest of the second half was little more than window dressing, as the Strongsville offense that was unselfish and patient earlier in the game deteriorated into chuck-and-duck.
“It’s the first game we’ve played defense consistently,” Hassinger said. “With (Teske) in the middle and our guards selling out on the perimeter and keeping guys in front, we contested every shot they took. It’s difficult for high school kids to make those shots, and if kids hit those shots, you give them credit. So, I was really happy with our defensive consistency.”
Note
| Dylan Fultz had 16 points as Medina’s junior varsity won 64-42. |
Contact Albert Grindle at (330) 721-4043 or agrindle@medina-gazette.com.
Medina 60, Strongsville 31
STRONGSVILLE 10 9 4 8 — 31
MEDINA 15 13 17 15 — 60
Strongsville — Jacob Yezbak 2-0-6, Jimmy Persarchick 2-0-5, Tyler Jamison 1-0-2, Jonnie Hopkins 0-0-0, Sean Aske 1-0-2, Moe Nofal 2-1-6, Berine McGivern 0-0-0, Peter Mocho 1-0-2, Mark Orszycki 2-0-5, Andrew Nelson 0-0-0, Garrett D’Abato 1-1-3, Noah Trizzino 0-0-0, Gee Gill 0-0-0, Matt Greaves 0-0-0. TOTALS: 12-2-31.
Medina — Luke Schaefer 3-0-6, Jimmy Clark 0-0-0, Jon Teske 9-2-22, Jackson Sartain 1-0-3, Ben Geschke 5-0-10, Jimmy Daw 2-0-4, Brian Moran 0-0-0, Colin Szumski 5-0-10, Sam McKee 0-0-0, Matthew McNaughton 0-0-0, Tyler Kaminski 1-0-2, Jared Keith 1-0-2, Dylan Fultz 0-1-1, Shane Cullen 0-0-0. TOTALS: 27-3-60.
3-point goals — Yezbak 2, Persarchick, Nofal, Orszycki, Teske 2, Sartain. Rebounds — Strongsville 27 (Jamison, Yezbak 7), Medina 38 (Teske 10). Assists — Strongsville 3 (Nelson, Jamison, Trizzino), Medina 14 (Geschke, Schaefer 3). Records — Strongsville (4-1, 1-1), Medina (3-0, 2-0). Junior varsity — Medina 64, Strongsville 42.
