Sometimes it takes a while for the offense to click when a high school basketball team plays a road game. That was not the case for the Crestwood Red Devils boys’ basketball squad which pummeled Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division rival Cardinal 90-46 to remain undefeated last Friday night in Middlefield.
“Offensively, I thought we did really well,” said Crestwood Coach Josh Jakacki. “The kids shot the ball extremely well, we shared the ball. I don’t think we had too many turnovers and for the most part I felt like that the kids shared it. It made for a nice offensive night for us for sure.”
Since joining the CVC Valley Division in the 2020-21 season, Crestwood (13-0, 6-0) had struggled against the Huskies (2-15, 0-7), losing its first five games against its new league rivals but now has gained the upper hand, with last Friday’s victory marking the fourth straight victory in the last two years. It extended the Red Devils’ league winning streak to 16 games, having not lost a game in the CVC Valley Division since the 2022-23 campaign.
It also was the last meeting between the schools as conference foes with Cardinal set to depart the CVC Valley Division and join the Northeastern Athletic Conference next year. According to the Red Devils’ 15-year coach, he could remember some hard-fought games between the teams when Crestwood joined the league five years ago.
“With Coach Cummings they had a lot of dudes,” he added. “Right now they are going through a slide like we did three years ago when these seniors were freshman so I understand the growing pains and understand what it feels like but Coach Kyle Deckerd has them playing hard and I wish them nothing but the best of luck in the new conference.”
On Friday evening, it was a fast-paced game between the CVC Valley Division foes, with the teams trying to match each other point for point. The Red Devils were more offensively balanced and raced ahead to a 27-12 advantage.
“We could not keep up with their scoring,” said Huskies’ Coach Kyle Deckerd. “In the first half I was pleased with our scoring differential. We had not been coming out with some fire like we need to, but we were ready to play. We played a zone early against them, but all of their players are good.”
Jakacki noted that although the Red Devils had good pace, they were allowing Cardinal to play with some pace as well.
“That was my fault in the first half,” he said. “I was insistent on them trapping when we could have just pressured them and forced them into some untimely turnovers. We gave up far too many points as far as I am concerned.”
While there may have been some defensive lapses, sophomore guard Brody Durham said that the Red Devils knew not to take the game lightly despite the fact that the Huskies had not won a league game yet this season.
Senior guard Dekota Johnson spurred Crestwood’s fast start by scoring nine points in the first period and in the second quarter, his backcourt running mate Brody Durham tallied nine points to help the Red Devils increase their lead to 49-28 heading into the break.
The Crestwood backcourt continued relentlessly attacking in the second half, keying a 16-9 run to build the lead to 66-38 halfway through the third period.
The 6-foot-1 Durham finished with 22 points, one rebound and two assists.
“He took advantage of some of their defensive lapses,” said Jakacki. “They were not helping off of James Durham and Brody was finishing at the rim. He hit some 3-point shots early to get his confidence going but by no means he is second fiddle. He has big things coming not only for this year but especially going forward.”
Taking a 72-41 advantage into the final period, Crestwood went on an 8-0 run to increase their lead to 38 points, triggering the running clock and inching closer to wrapping up outright ownership of the CVC Valley Division.
“We have a big bullseye on our backs, and we have Kirtland and Wickliffe left so they are going to be gunning for us,” noted Brody. “We have to stay locked in at every single practice and every single game and take it seriously.”
The Red Devils improved their record to 14-0 (6-0) when the dominated CVC rival Lakeside 91-56 in a home game on Saturday afternoon.
Following a home game against West Branch on Tuesday night, Crestwood will welcome CVC Valley Division foe Kirtland for a league showdown on Friday evening in Mantua at 7 p.m.
Meanwhile, after a road contest against St. John, the Huskies will hit the road again and face Pymatuning Valley in Andover on Saturday evening at 6:30 p.m.
