Boys basketball: Medina wakes up, pulls away in non-league win over Woodridge

MEDINA — Chris Hassinger called his first timeout 1:04 into the game, his second with 4:02 left in the first quarter and his third at the 1:30 mark of the opening period.Let's just say the Medina boys basketball coach was not telling his players how well they were playing.After blown defensive assignments led to the first two timeouts and having no clue what they were running on offense resulted in the third, the Division I Bees finally woke up Tuesday night and pulled away for a 70-48 non-league victory over D-IV Woodridge."It's honestly pretty scary," 6-foot-6 center Garrett Myers said of Hassinger's play stoppages. "We know if he calls timeout that early we did something wrong and we're getting yelled at."And when "Hass" calls a second and third timeout in the opening quarter?"It's even worse," said a smiling Myers, who led Medina with 21 points, tied for the team lead with five rebounds and added four assists. "We knew we were playing bad. After that third timeout, I knew we needed to get it going somehow, someway."After falling behind 9-0, 11-2 and 14-8, the Bees (11-7) did just that against Metro Athletic Conference member Woodridge (12-7), winning the final 25:30 of the game 62-34."Those are never good timeouts for us (as players)," said Medina power forward Brody Kopkas, who hit four of his team's 12 3-pointers en route to 18 points, three boards and three assists. "You take it as constructive criticism and don't focus on the yelling. You focus on the directions."The Bees' turnaround was sparked by much-improved defense. After allowing a smaller and less athletic but well-coached and smart Woodridge team go 7-for-12 from the field for a 16-14 lead after the opening period, Medina held the visitors to 32 points on 10-for-33 shooting over the final three quarters.Steals led to some easy layups for the Bees, but they also executed better at the offensive end. Small forward Ryan Harubin had three 3-pointers and a two-hand dunk en route to 13 points, four rebounds and one assist, point guard Beckett Miller had two triples and finished iwth seven points, four rebounds and five assists and shooting guard Bishop Burch hit his only shot, a trifecta, while adding five boards and three assists.Repeatedly driving to the hole, Myers had 14 points in the middle quarters as Medina went up 50-38. Kopkas helped the Bees blow the game wide open with nine points in the fourth period — he scored twice when Donte Cargill found him open at the rim — and got them in the lead with a pair of threes in the second quarter."I just felt good," the 6-5 Kopkas said. "I put in some more work. The (shooting) machine worked. When they were trapping, I tried to find the open spots instead of living on the 3-point shot. Getting those layups was nice."A corner 3-point specialist, Kopkas got his first 12 points that way, which opened the floor for his teammates. The senior's second three gave the Bees their first lead at 19-18 with 6:42 to go in the first half."It helps everything," Myers said of his teammate's shooting. "It opens up the floor and gives me and (Harubin) and everyone else driving lanes. It just makes everything easier."Medina finished the game 26-for-44 from the field (.591), including 12-for-20 from behind the arc (.600), but went just 6-for-14 at the line (.429).Shooting guard Brandon Evans led the Bulldogs with 18 points, four boards and two assists, while point guard Kellen Morr had eight, five and two. With 983 career points coming in, Evans was at 999 when he missed a pair of free throws with 3:42 to play, but he buried a 17-footer 56 seconds later and the game was stopped to honor him.Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com.Medina 70, Woodridge 48 WOODRIDGE 16 11 11 10 — 48MEDINA 14 21 15 20 — 70Woodridge — Naseer Williams-Clay 0-1-1, Blake Williams 1-0-3, Carter Maxa 2-4-8, Branden Evans 8-1-18, Kellen Morr 2-4-8, Andrew Stull 3-1-8, Rory Johnston 1-0-2, Antonio Garcia 0-0-0, Blake Pumper 0-0-0, Travis Galassi 0-0-0, Justin Howell 0-0-0. TOTALS: 17-11-48.Medina — Ryan Harubin 5-0-13, Brody Kopkas 6-2-18, Garrett Myers 9-1-21, Bishop Burch 1-0-3, Beckett Miller 2-1-7, Donte Cargill 0-0-0, Luke Webb 1-0-2, Korde Carey 2-0-4, Sean Kungli 0-0-0, Brody Robison 0-0-0, Tyler Minarcin 0-0-0, Owen Sturm 0-2-2, Christian Kalal 0-0-0. TOTALS: 26-6-70.3-point goals — Williams, Stull, Evans, Kopkas 4, Harubin 3, Myers 2, Miller 2, Burch. Rebounds — Woodridge 23 (Morr 5), Medina 26 (Burch 5, Myers 5). Assists — Woodridge 9 (Morr, Williams-Clay, Evans, Maxa 2), Medina 21 (Miller 5). Records — Woodridge (12-7), Medina (11-7). Junior varsity — Medina 69, Woodridge 29 (M: Bryce Ridge 16, Sturm 12, Robison 10).