Sports
Strongsville's Big 3 Lead Mustangs to Victory Over Lakewood
Boys basketball team now 14-5 on season
Strongsville got a game-high 21 points from senior guard Gurjeet Gill along with 19 points from senior center Ray Hamilton and another 17 from senior forward Aaron White as the Mustang boys basketball team routed host Lakewood 72-45 on Friday night.
The win moved the Mustangs to 7-2 in the Northeast Ohio Conference Valley Division and 14-5 overall.
Strongsville, which closes the regular season at home next Friday against Garfield Heights, took a 10-0 lead with points from four different players and were never headed despite making just 15 of 34 free throws including a 3-for-15 night from the line by Hamilton.
"This one was ugly," said Strongsville head coach Joe Lynch. "This was our 19th game and we have to play better than we did tonight this far into the season."
The Mustangs took a 10-0 lead on the Rangers, who fell to 3-14 with the loss, and raced to a 24-10 lead at the quarter only to see Rangers find themselves stay within striking distance at intermission, trailing 32-22 when Pete Nelson hit a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left in the half.
Strongsville's main problem was hitting just 5 of 18 free throws in the first half. Lakewood, which was led by Nelson with 18 points, was outscored 24-12 in the third to dismiss any hopes of an upset.
Following its game with Garfield Heights, the Mustangs enter tournament play against either North Olmsted or Amherst on March 5 at Midview High School in Grafton.