Beachwood Seniors Lead Bison Past Wickliffe

Senior Andrew Somogyi closed out his last regular season home game as a Bison with style, scoring 24 points in Beachwood’s 71-52 win over Wickliffe. Fellow senior Jeremiah Townes added 19 points and five rebounds in the win.

“You could just tell [Somogyi] wanted it more. No matter what, he wasn’t going to let us lose,” Beachwood head coach Jason Pecjak said.

The Bison ultimately put the game away in the second half with a 45-point outburst, but it was Somogyi who kept the Bison in it during the second quarter with Townes on the bench after picking up an early second foul. Beachwood took a five-point lead (26-21) into the locker room thanks largely to Somogyi, who had 11 of the Bison’s 13 second-quarter points.

“We didn’t guard him,” Wickliffe head coach Dave Kryz said. “It’s easy to score when you don’t guard guys and he played well.”

In the third quarter the Bison were on fire, outscoring Wickliffe 20-11, and they never looked back.

“We came out down six at halftime and talked about setting the tone in the first four minutes,” Kryz said. “Three of our first four possessions were turnovers. At that point I think our guys just quit playing.”

Seniors Adam LaMonica and Donzayle Avery were the only Blue Devils in double figures with 12 and 15 points, respectively. Avery led the game in rebounds with seven.

Beachwood freshman John Davis finished with nine points and junior Ellis Cohen add seven, but it was Somogyi and Townes leading the way for the eight senior Bison.

“Having eight seniors is special, I don’t care how big your program is,” coach Pecjak said. “Those kids wanted to leave here with a victory and the were going to do whatever it took to get it.”

Beachwood does not have any more regular season home games. They hit the road Tuesday, Feb. 15 for a showdown against Richmond.