Ross Eclipses 1,000 Points in Ravens 67-47 Victory Over Field
Ravenna, OH- The Ravenna Ravens honored their senior class Friday night when they welcomed conference foe Field to town in a Metro Athletic Conference battle. Senior CJ Ross entered the evening with 986 points in his 4 year career. The anticipation throughout the evening, as it has been all season, as Ross made his way towards the milestone, was palpable. Despite being within reach of the mark for much of the evening, it looked like it may not have the Hollywood ending that it seemed destined to be in the past week or two.
Field had a clear defensive plan from the jump: “Don’t let #2 beat us”. Unfortunately for Coach Blake and the Falcons, the supporting cast stepped up in a big way throughout the night. Field jumped out to an early lead, but the Ravens clawed their way back before the quarter ended, using suffocating defense and good ball movement to build a 22-13 advantage after 1. Despite the bevy of seniors on Coach Justin Rahim’s Ravens squad, it was Junior Center Blake Cutting that led the way with 8 points, including a triple. Mason Fulst nailed two triples of his own in the opening frame to pace the Falcons.
In the 2nd quarter, the Ravens were able to extend their lead by 6. At the break, Ross had 6 points, needing 8 in the 2nd half to reach the threshold. The 3rd quarter saw Ross pick up two personal fouls, landing him on the bench with about 2 minutes left in the quarter, his point production remained at 6 heading to the final stanza. Tension built, not for the result of the game, but for the opportunity to reach the plateau in front of the Ravens faithful. A quick bucket inched the number closer to the 14 needed. A breakaway attempt was thwarted by a foul that was upgraded to an intentional foul. Ross hit both freebies. A triple put him on the precipice at 999 points. The Ravens took a timeout to regroup as the crowd grew everso anxious as the game clock was now under 2 minutes.
Ross attempts the first of his two free throws following an intentional foul
Running off-ball screens trying to free their star wasn’t as successful as hoped, but it did lead to a reach-in foul, the Falcons’ 5th of the quarter, putting Ross at the line for two attempts. As he took the charity stripe for his first attempt, you could hear a pin drop in the gymnasium. He sank both attempts, pushing his career total to 1,001. A timeout followed for the Ravenna faithful to give him his just praise. The clock expired soon after and the real celebration began with friends and family.
CJ Ross and Head Coach Justin Rahim embrace following Ross’ 1,000th career point.
On the night, it was Cutting leading all scorers with 18, followed by Ross’ 15. The Falcons were led offensively by Fulst with 13. The Ravens (11-8) travel to Garfield on Tuesday as the regular season nears its end. The Falcons ( 6-15) wrap up their season on Monday when they travel to Mogadore.
