STREETSBORO — Any coach would love to have seniors like Braden Hodge and Ethan Laryea.
Hodge has long been Streetsboro’s Energizer Bunny.
Laryea is held in such high regard by coaches around the Metro Athletic Conference that he earned first team all-league honors despite averaging just 7.6 points per game.
The two Rockets seniors weren’t ready to be done Feb. 27, playing a huge role in Streetsboro’s 37-34 Division IV sectional final victory over Bay.
Even a scoreless six minutes and 48 seconds to open the second half couldn’t keep 12th-seeded Streetsboro (13-10) down for long as Hodge, Laryea and their teammates made up for a tough shooting night with relentlessness.
“It’s just adversity though,” Laryea said. “You got to just keep battling through it, because at the end of it, it’s sunshine and rainbows, so just keep going, keep your head down, keep grinding, and we were able to find our groove, get a couple buckets here and there and got the win.”
Watch Ohio High School Sports Live on the NFHS Network all season
Up two points entering the final 75 seconds, Hodge and Laryea combined to score Streetsboro’s final four — on four free throws — to help Portage County’s Rockets remain ahead of Cuyahoga County’s Rockets.
In addition to making four of six free throws in the fourth quarter, Laryea had four assists. Six points and four assists might not sound like a ton, but in a low-scoring game, Laryea directly contributed to 15 of his team’s 37 points. As has often been the case this season, Streetsboro’s best possessions tended to flow through Laryea.
“You go into the league meeting and there’s not many guys who get all-league that are averaging under eight points a game,” Rockets coach Nick Marcini said. “But he’s getting six rebounds, he’s getting six assists, he’s getting 54 deflections, two-and-a-half steals, and [he] just impacts the game in so many ways.”
If Laryea was smooth and steady, Hodge was a Tasmanian devil. Providing relentless defensive effort all game, Hodge put on a finale worthy of a July 4 fireworks show with four fourth-quarter steals. On two occasions, the senior turned Streetsboro giveaways into Bay turnovers within seconds thanks to his speed and hustle.
“He has a motor,” Laryea said. “Out of anyone on this team, that kid can run non-stop and he’s always that guy chasing down people, trying to back tap the ball, get it out. Like he never stops working and that’s the kind of stuff that we need, that kind of energy and that intensity.”
Hodge also provided critical defense on Kelan Rose after the talented freshman had just knocked down a 3-pointer to get Bay within two points with 11.8 seconds remaining. After Laryea split a pair of free throws to push Streetsboro’s lead to three, Bay got the ball to Rose up top, but Hodge was all over him to force a pass. Cuyahoga County’s Rockets ultimately never got a potential game-tying shot off as Portage County’s Rockets raced off the court in jubilation.
Not that it was all Hodge and Laryea down the stretch. Streetsboro junior PJ Robinson knocked down the go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:23 remaining off an assist from Laryea, finishing the night with a game-high 12 points. It’s not easy to shake off a string of six straight missed shots to knock down a big-time 3-pointer, but Marcini wasn’t surprised by Robinson’s clutch make. That’s what he has come to expect from his talented junior sharpshooter.
“Credit to him, stuff like that doesn’t bother him,” Marcini said. “He’s going to keep shooting. I mean that’s his job. That’s his role. We count on him to score, and his effort defensively in the second half really ignited us.”
Robinson also played a key role in the final defensive sequence. After Rose passed the ball, Robinson helped pry out a steal, Laryea fell on it and that was the ballgame.
After a third quarter with just seven total points — two for Streetsboro — ending on a stop was only fitting.
Contact Jonah L. Rosenblum at jrosenblum@recordpub.com and follow him on Twitter at @JLRSports.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Hodge, Laryea, Robinson spark Streetsboro basketball, extend season
Reporting by Jonah Rosenblum, Ravenna Record-Courier / Record-Courier
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
