The NEO Top 25 poll: NDCL, Brecksville enter
December 14, 2015
Another week of the boys basketball season is in the books, and there’s plenty to discuss for the top 25 teams for the Cleveland/Akron area. See who rose and fell below.
Check back every Monday for the newest rankings (last week’s rankings in parentheticals).
1. Garfield Heights (1)
Record: 5-0
A Marreon Jackson game-winner on Saturday kept Garfield Heights undefeated. The team is flying on all cylinders and hasn’t even seen Youngstown State commit Braun Hartfield, who is sidelined till February, hit the floor.
Last week: Defeated Euclid and Genesis Academy
This week: Dec. 15 vs. Shaw, Dec. 19 vs. Memphis Ridgeway
2. St. Vincent-St. Mary (2)
Record: 1-1
The Irish notched their first win over the weekend and now prepare for a three-game week that includes the King James Classic. All three games are against high-quality opponents.
Last week: Defeated Mansfield Senior
This week: Dec. 15 vs. Youngstown Ursuline, Dec. 19 vs. Uniontown Lake, Dec. 20 vs. Whitney Young (Ill.)
3. Medina (3)
Record: 3-0
Quietly, the Bees are humming along and picking up convincing wins. This week should see those wins continue, as Medina continues to flex its muscles against local teams.
Last week: Defeated Ashland and Strongsville
This week: Dec. 15 vs. Wadsworth, Dec. 18 at Euclid
4. Beachwood (4)
Record: 4-0
Beachwood has yet to be seriously tested, as the team has yet to win a game by less than 14 points. Senior Maishe Dailey is averaging over 16 ppg for the Bisons.
Last week: Defeated Chagrin Falls and West Geauga
First game: Dec. 18 vs. Perry
5. St. Ignatius (5)
Record: 2-0
The undefeated Wildcats have gotten a great start this season from senior Deven Stover, who is averaging 18.5 ppg. The Wildcats will begin to play more frequently now as school heads to winter break.
Last week: Defeated then-No.14 Cleveland Heights
First game: Dec. 18 at Kenston, Dec. 19 vs. Canton McKinley
6. East Tech (6)
Record: 5-0
So far this season, junior Markell Johnson is doing a Luke Kennard impression and averaging 36.6 ppg. That includes a 46/12/10 line last Friday i a win over Rhodes.
Last week: Defeated Collinwood and Rhodes.
This week: Dec. 15 vs. No. 20 Glenville, Dec. 19 vs. Columbus Northland
7. Lorain (7)
Record: 4-0
Lorain got its first real test of the season by coming from behind to earn a road win against a quality Elyria Catholic team. The Titans now have a handful of tough league games coming up.
Last week: Defeated then-No.24 Elyria Catholic and Shaw.
This week: Dec. 18 at Maple Heights
8. St. Edward (8)
Record: 2-0
A pair of wins over ranked teams is nothing to overlook, as the success of St. Edward’s revamped roster is one of the early surprises of the season. Another tough test awaits ahead, as the team travels to Lima Senior to play Dayton Dunbar.
Last week: Defeated then-No. 20 Glenville
This week: Dec. 18 vs. Dayton Dunbar
9. Walsh Jesuit (9)
Record: 3-0
Senior Mitch Peterson bounced back from a shaky performance against CVCA with 22 points in a win over Lake Catholic. The win made an early statement about the Warriors’ aspirations to win a league title.
Last week: Defeated Lake Catholic
This week: Dec. 18 vs. No. 15 Archbishop Hoban, Dec. 19 vs. John Hay
10. Cleveland Central Catholic (10)
Record: 3-0
Senior Tervell Beck is off to one of the hottest starts of the 2015-16 season as he’s coming off 30-point and 31-point efforts this past week. The Ironmen are still looking for more consistent guard play, but the team is on a path to a lot of success.
Last week: Defeated then-No. 15 Holy Name and then-No. 23 Villa Angela-St. Joseph
This week: Dec. 18 at Warren JFK, Dec. 19 vs. No. 19 Cleveland Heights
11. Brunswick (11)
Record: 4-0
Few teams got a better win this past week than Brunswick earning a double-overtime road victory against Mentor. Two more strong teams await this week on the schedule.
Last week: Defeated Highland and then-No. 14 Mentor.
First game: Dec. 11 vs. No. 17 Elyria, Dec. 12 vs. Lutheran East
12. Bedford (6)
Record: 2-2
After an 0-2 start to the season, Bedford is playing like most expected and now has an even record. Senior Lamont Rhodes has notched a double-double in every game so far this session.
Last week: Defeated Kenston and then-No. 14 Cleveland Heights
First game: Dec. 15 at Brush, Dec. 18 vs. Warrensville Heights
13. Mentor (13)
Record: 2-1
Senior Andrew Robinson has burst onto the radar this season 17.7 ppg for Mentor through the team’s first three games. He was critical in the team’s two convincing wins this past week.
Last week: Defeated Euclid and Austintown-Fitch
This week: Dec. 18 vs. Strongsville
14. Elyria (17)
Record: 3-1
While the top 13 teams are rock solid, everything else is a bit messy right now. Elyria moves up due to a tough loss to Brunswick and impressive road win against Westlake.
Last week: Defeated Westlake, lost to No. 11 Brunswick
First game: Dec. 18 vs. Shaker Heights, Dec. 19 vs. Keystone
15. Archbishop Hoban (22)
Record: 2-1
Another team that moves up after a loss, as we try to sort out this mess. The Knights struggles against Youngstown Ursuline but many of their football players had little practice time, and the team responded well with two big wins.
Last week: Defeated then-No. 19 Benedictine and Lake Center Christian, lost to Youngstown Ursuline
This week: Dec. 18 at No. 9 Walsh Jesuit
16. Elyria Catholic (24)
Record: 4-1
The Panthers are the biggest risers this week, even after losing. However, Elyria Catholic lead Lorain for a large portion of Tuesday’s loss and had a pretty convincing win over Holy Name, which shows this team should be ranked somewhere in this range.
Last week: Defeated then-No. 15 Holy Name, lost to No. 7 Lorain.
This week: Dec. 15 at Parma, Dec. 18 vs. Clearview
17. Benedictine (19)
Record: 1-1
With 41 points through two games, senior Justin Layne continues to fly under the radar to only those who still think he’s just a football player. Expect the Bengals to get more in a groove now that their season has finally started.
Last week: Defeated Brush, lost to then-No. 22 Archbishop Hoban
This week: Dec. 18 v. Padua
18. North Olmsted (21)
Record: 5-0
All North Olmsted does is keep winning, as the Eagles notched quality wins against Westlake and Lakewood this past week. With two more conference games ahead, North Olmsted already has a 4-0 mark in the league.
Last week: Defeated Westlake and Lakewood.
First game: Dec. 15 at North Ridgeville, Dec. 18 vs. Amherst
19. Cleveland Heights (14)
Record: 0-4
The toughest team to rank is Cleveland Heights, which has not won a game but played four teams in Ohio that could easily make the regional playoffs. Expect the Tigers to finlly get at least one win this week.
Last week: Lost to No. 12 Bedford and No. 5 St. Ignatius
This week: Dec. 18 at Shaw, Dec. 19 at Cleveland Central Catholic
20. Glenville (20)
Record: 3-1
Glenville earned two more league wins before getting blitzed at home by St. Edward. Another daunting task awaits, as the Tarblooders gave a road game against East Tech this week.
Last week: Defeated Max Hayes and Whitney Young, lost to No. 8 St. Edward
This week: Dec. 15 at No. 6 East Tech
21. Holy Name (15)
Record: 2-2
Two losses this week show that Holy Name still has a little work to do to get back to last year’s level. The bright spot of this past week is that Dwayne Cohill continues to flourish, as he’s averaging 30 ppg as a sophomore.
Last week: Lost to No. 10 Cleveland Central Catholic and then-No. 24 Elyria Catholic
This week: Dec. 15 at Padua, Dec. 18 vs. Rocky River
22. Ellet (25)
Record: 4-0
Two more home wins gives Ellet the kind of start it was looking for this season. A couple more Akron City Series games means Ellet could push itself to a 6-0 start.
Last week: Defeated Tallmadge and Buchtel
This week: Dec. 15 at Kenmore, Dec. 18 vs. Firestone
23. Villa Angela-St. Joseph (23)
Record: 2-1
A road loss to Cleveland Central Catholic is nothing to get discouraged about, but it still does give the Vikings their first defeat of the season. The Vikings continue a road swing with two games this week.
Last week: Lost to No. 10 Cleveland Central Catholic
This week: Dec. 17 at Richmond Heights, Dec. 18 at Youngstown Valley Christian
24. Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin (NR)
Record: 4-0
Our first newcomer of the week is off to an undefeated start behind the play of big man Mark Kostelac. The Lions have just one win by less than 10 points.
Last week: Defeated Madison and Padua.
This week: Dec. 18 at Lake Catholic
25. Brecksville (NR)
Record: 3-1
With two wins this past week, Brecksville is the first team this season to return to the poll after leaving it. The Bees have held their opponents to 60 points or less in every game this season.
Last week: Defeated Cuyahoga Falls and Twinsburg
This week: Dec. 15 vs. Highland, Dec. 18 vs. Nordonia
Dropped out: Warrensville Heights and Stow