Tigers use third-quarter rally, end-of-game defense to win fourth in a row in 63-57 victory over Orangemen.
MASSILLON Massillon will carry a four-game win streak into Saturday's road trip to reigning Division I state runner-up Moeller because it has been able to steadily improve its defensive effort. The latest example came Tuesday night, as the Tigers defeated visiting Akron Ellet 63-57.
Pressure defense in the third quarter helped key a 20-6 Massillon run grab the advantage. A stifling man-to-man over the final 90 seconds of the game helped the Tigers preserve the win.
"Obviously that last minute-and-a-half possession is as good as it gets," said Massillon coach Michael Cruz, whose team forced a five-second violation with 8.3 seconds remaining while leading by three. "That's what we've been preaching to our guys. We have to do that for 32 minutes though; we can't wait until the end of the game when we needed a stop."
The Tigers led 60-57 with 1:35 remaining when they turned the ball over in their backcourt. The Orangemen called two timeouts in the final 35 seconds to try and formulate a game-tying play, but could not get off a shot.
Massillon's Anthony Ballard would get fouled with 5.6 seconds remaining. As Ballard was going to the line, a technical foul was called on Ellet's bench.
Ballard would hit both of his free throws for a five-point lead. Brett Martin then split the technical shots to provide the final margin as they dropped Ellet to 7-4.
"We've beat some really good teams," Cruz said. "I would go a step further. We're 7-2 in our last nine games. Along the way to get those seven wins, we've had to beat some really good teams. ... This is a really good team that we just beat."
The game was really one of ups and downs for both teams. Ellet would use a 12-2 second-quarter run to take a 27-17 lead on Stephen Zampelli's basket with 3:54 remaining in the half.
Zampelli, Storm Cherry and Anthony Jordan each scored a team-high 12 points for Ellet.
Massillon, which led once in the first half at 8-6, would pull within 31-30 with 10 seconds left in the half. The Orangemen, though, led 33-30 at halftime.
They would extend that lead out to 37-32 on a Trevin Carter layup 58 seconds into the third quarter. That's when the Tigers went on their game-changing 20-6 burst to take a 52-43 lead on Martin's 3-point basket with 1:32 left in the quarter.
Martin scored nine of his 22 points in that run. Dyson Berry, meanwhile, added 11 of his 22 in the burst, including a game-tying three-point play with 6:27 remaining in the third to make it 37-37.
"Obviously, Brett and Dyson are our best two players," Cruz said. "They're the guys we rely on to consistently give us scoring, but also to give us rebounding and defense. ... For us to be the team we want to be, we certainly need Dyson and Brett to continue to be those players they're capable of being."
Massillon also needs to continue to play the defense it has displayed. The Tigers forced six turnovers during their third-quarter run, while also holding Ellet to just one basket for just over four minutes.
"When we went on that run, it was definitely fueled by our pressure packages," Cruz said. "It was our ability to create turnovers and make them feel uncomfortable and get them out of what they were trying to do. I thought we did a great job of that."
The Orangemen, who would never get closer than three the rest of the game, finished with 22 turnovers.
Reach Chris at 330-775-1128 or chris.easterling@indeonline.com.
On Twitter: @ceasterlingINDE