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Red Devils can win without shooting 3s

CHARLESTON — If you’ve watched any Ravenswood boys basketball this season, you probably know the Red Devils have buried more than one opponent with their ability to knock down 3-pointers in abundance.

However, going into Wednesday’s Class A state quarterfinals against seventh-seeded St. Joseph Central at the Charleston Civic Center, Ravenswood head coach Mick Price had his team take a different approach.

“First guy that took a 3-point shot down the court, we’re going to drag him over here and tie him to the bench and he ain’t going back in,” Price joked after his team’s 62-41 win over the Irish. Ravenswood shot a blistering 73 percent (27 for 37) and only attempted six 3s, finishing with 44 points in the paint.

“Sometimes we have a tendency to jack the ball up in bad situations. We needed to be really in the attack mode. We’ve got good shooters, but sometimes they don’t make good decisions. I think when you come down to the state tournament, you can eliminate yourself the first night by taking poor shot selections. Our shot selection was good and that’s why our percentage was pretty good. I was pleased with the way our kids handled it and executed it.”

Price experienced first-hand what poor shot selection can do a team the past two seasons at state. The Devils were ousted by Poca two years ago and Bridgeport last year, both times in the first round, largely due to less than stellar offensive performances.

“I think two years ago we shot 17 percent,” Price said. “Last year, I think we improved on that and shot 18 percent.”

Lesson learned.

Ravenswood’s offense was the definition of efficient Wednesday afternoon, and senior Riley Heatherington had a performance for the ages.

Heatherington, listed at 6-foot-7, connected on 13 of 14 shot attempts and finished with a game-high 30 points. He showed off his entire arsenal, posting up down low, finishing with his left hand and even burying a deep 3-pointer midway through the second quarter. It was one of only three triples Ravenswood made in six attempts. Isaiah Morgan, known for his accuracy behind the 3-point line, had the other two. Morgan still finished with 10 points despite not getting as many looks beyond the arc.

Conversely, St. Joseph had 3-balls flying left and right, which in the end was its undoing. The Irish went 3 for 15 from deep in the game and 2 for 7 in the first half, which helped lead to 12-point halftime deficit.

“Three for 15 from three,” noted Irish head coach Ross Scaggs following the contest. “We’re a better shooting team than that, but not (Wednesday.)”

Many times when a team chooses to live and die by the 3, death is the result.

Ravenswood is trying not to find out.

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@newsandsentinel.com.

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