LocalSportsJournal.com

WHITE CLOUD — When Ravenna’s varsity boys basketball team plays ferocious defense, they can hang with anyone.

The Bulldogs gave Kent City four quarters of that effort during Wednesday’s Division 3 district semifinal contest at White Cloud High School, helping Ravenna pull out a 53-40 victory.

Ravenna (14-6 overall) advances to Friday’s championship game against Edmore Montabella, which defeated Morley Stanwood in Wednesday’s other semifinal.

Ravenna forced Kent City into 15 turnovers and allowed the Eagles to shoot just 38 percent from the floor (13-of-34).

“We just did not execute on the offensive end tonight,” said Kent City head coach Dave Ingles. “Our defense kept us in it but we were bad on offense. We had it at just six points in the fourth with the ball multiple times and couldn’t get a bucket.”

Ravenna had a trio of players reach double figures in scoring, led by Grant Becklin’s game-high 20. Kyle Beebe added 15 and Clay Schullo notched 14 points. Becklin also pulled down seven rebounds.

Ravenna had a 27-17 lead at the half, but Kent City narrowed it to 37-29 after three.

Jaret Jaramillo tallied 15 points to lead Kent City, which finishes with a 15-7 record. Hayden Carlson added nine points and five assists.