MORRAL, OH (MARION COUNTY NOW)—Newark Catholic’s record might be a bit deceiving. Their aggressive style and penchant for shooting 3-point shots are quite clear.

The 9th-seeded Green Wave made the trip north worthwhile and turned back No. 5 seed Ridgedale 71-65 in a boys Division VII district semifinal here Tuesday night.

“Our MO is we play harder than every team we play, and we didn’t play like that in the first half. In the second half we got those loose balls, we were on the floor and were getting those rebounds,” said first-year NC head coach Jamie Cox.

Ridgedale jumped on top 15-12 after the first quarter, thanks to Ayden Salyer scoring 10 of his 14 points.

Griffin Urdarovski led the Green Wave with 5 of his team leading 24 points, and by halftime a run-and-shoot game ensued with the Rockets maintaining a 36-31 advantage.

Ridgedale concluded its season at 17-6.

“Anyone who knows Newark Catholic plays in a really good league, playing Heath, Johnstown, schools two times bigger than them. And if you look at their scores they weren’t getting blown out by them. They were competing,” said Ridgedale head coach Michael Mathey.

“We took them to the wire. A back-and-forth game and a fun atmosphere. Each year we’ve taken steps. Last year we made it to the district semis and (Westerville) Northside (Christian) kind of handled us.”

Newark Catholic (8-16) faces top-seed Columbus Patriot Prep, who downed Millersport 73-40, for the Central District championship. That game is 6 p.m. Friday at Mount Vernon Nazarene University.

Both teams launched treys, with Newark Catholic connecting on 12-of-29 attempts, led by Urdarovski’s 5 and Jaxon Holman’s 4.

But the Rockets are no strangers to shooting deep and connected on 11-of-29 from beyond the arc. Eric Gottfried drained 6 to lead all scorers with 27 points, with 14 in the second quarter.

“The first half we shot really well, and we were able to withstand their runs. We had a couple of turnovers, but we were able to withstand all that stuff,” Mathey said.

“That third quarter we missed some easy shots, and they made some easy shots. We missed a couple layups, and they came down and they hit some 3s.”

A Holman 3 at the end of the first half and one by Urdarovski at the end of the third quarter were damaging.

The second one put the visitors ahead 53-46, a lead they would not relinquish.

“Those were huge momentum swings, and they shot the ball better in the third quarter than we did.”

Newark Catholic won that period 22-10.

Billy Wren scored 5 points to open fourth quarter as Ridgedale cut the lead to 53-51. Wren and Evan Ricketts added 10 points apiece.

But Urdarovski again answered.

Two more baskets pushed the lead to 7 at 61-54. The Rockets cut it to 5 when Gottfried drilled a 3 to make it 65-60 with 2:12 to play.

Again, the Green Wave turned missed Rocket shots into baskets and built a 70-60 lead.

The Rockets finished second to Ridgemont in the Northwest Central Conference and achieved a goal of a 15-win season.

“It’s just a process. It doesn’t happen overnight, and the kids kept working and working and working,” Mathey said.

“There’s only 7 teams in the state of Ohio that will end with a win. Next year if we get everyone back and healthy we should have a shot at the district title.”

Townsend is the only senior starter, so a good nucleus returns including 9 juniors.

Box score

Newark Catholic     12       19      22     18 — 71

Ridgedale                 15       21      10     19 — 65

Stats

Newark Catholic (8-16): Shots 26-61; 3-pt. shots 12-29 (Griffin Urdarovski 5, Jaxon Holman 4, Alex Nagle, Dylan Daube, Wesley Stone); Free throws 7-10; Rebounds 26 (Miller Hutchison 11); Turnovers 12. Scoring: Alex Nagel 1 0 3, Dylan Daube 5 2 13, Wesley Stone 2 0 5, Miller Hutchison 2 0 4, Jaxon Holman 6 2 18, Owen Pryzmierski 2 0 4, Griffin Urdarovski 8 3 24.

Ridgedale (17-6): Shots 23-64; 3-pt. shots 11-29 (Eric Gottfried 6, Ayden Salyer 2, Evan Ricketts 2, Billy Wren); Free throws 8-13; Rebounds 29 (Brayden Townsend 13); Turnovers 10. Scoring: Ayden Salyer 5 2 14, Brayden Townsend 2 0 4, Billy Wren 4 1 10, Eric Gottfried 9 3 27, Evan Ricketts 3 2 10.

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