MOGADORE, OH- It was an early season rivalry game Friday night at the Mogadore Memorial Fieldhouse between the 2-0 Wildcats and the Crestwood Red Devils who were playing their season opener. The Red Devils started fast and never looked back taking home an impressive 64-31 road win to start the 2024/25 campaign.
Crestwood got off to a fast start to open this one with aggressive defense from the tip. They pitched a shutout in the first quarter with a balanced offensive attack led by 7 points from sophomore standout Brody Durham. I asked coach Josh Jakacki about their defensive mindset to start the game.
"We spend a lot of time on the defensive side of the basketball," said Jakacki. "Practice is pretty intense and it's a major focus for us."
Mogadore was finally able to put points on the board to open the 2nd quarter as Demitri Blagojevic split a pair of free throws followed by a Jordan Smith basket to make it a 19-3 deficit. After a Durham make Smith again scored to cut the deficit to 16. That's the closest they would get the rest of the half as Crestwood closed the 2nd quarter on a 13-4 run to take a 34-9 lead into halftime. Brody Durham had a solid first half with 13 points to lead the Red Devils attack.
The Wildcats came out strong to start the 2nd half scoring the first 6 points to get the deficit under 20 at 34-15. The teams then traded baskets on the next to possessions to make it a 39-20 game with just over three minutes to play in the quarter. Crestwood would close the 3rd on an 11-2 run that was capped off with a Dekota Johnson three ball to close the quarter with the Devils up 50-22.
Crestwood's Dekota Johnson with a nice spin move inside for 2 of his 10 3rd quarter points
Crestwood's Dekota Johnson beats the 3rd quarter buzzer with a 3 ball
The start of the final quarter was the Dekota Johnson show. He scored the first 10 points of the quarter including back to back three balls to make it a 60-22 advantage. Johnson's personal scoring run went 15 straight points from the last minute of the 3rd to the start of the 4th. He hit two three's and scored 10 points in both the 3rd and 4th quarters. Mogadore would score 9 of the last 11 points of the game to make the final score 64-31 in favor of the visiting Red Devils.
Dekota Johnson led all scorers with 29 points hitting five shots from long range to go along with 5 rebounds. Brody Durham chipped in 17 points for Crestwood. Jordan Smith had a nice game for Mogadore with 12 points and 8 rebounds.
Up next for Crestwood is a trip to East Canton on Monday while Mogadore hosts Warren JFK on 12/13.
Postgame interviews with Dekota Johnson, Brody Durham and coach Josh Jakacki.
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