By Mike Wertman<br><a href="mailto:mike.wertman@journal-register.com">E-mail Mike</a>
MEDINA — Anchored by a nucleus of four returning starters, Medina begins tuning up for its Niagara-Orleans League title defense by competing in the Pastor-Cooper Tournament on Tuesday at Daemen College.
Medina, which shared the N-O crown with Akron last year at 13-1, will face Seneca High School of Buffalo at 6:45 p.m. in the opening round. The other semifinal will have McKinley High School of Buffalo vs. Orchard Park. The consolation game is slated for Dec. 3 and the title contest Dec. 4.
Four returning senior regulars — Levi Pace (6-7), Adam Hellwig (6-6), Demetrius Thompson (6-3) and Travis Bloom (5-10) — lead the way for Medina, which begins its N-O title defense Dec. 11 at Albion. That weekend will also see the Mustangs face East Aurora at 1:30 p.m. Dec. 12 in the Cataract Classic at Niagara Falls High School.
“We’ve got some key players returning and I’m excited about the season. We’re pretty quick and long,” coach Tom Forrestel said. “We’ve got some good, challenging non-league games to help get us ready for what looks to be a strong N-O league.”
Pace, a three-time first team N-O all-league honoree, scored 391 points last year for a 17.8 per-game average, upping his career point total to 921. He also grabbed off 229 rebounds for an average of 10.4, to complete the season double-double, and had 141 blocks (4.9 average).
Hellwig averaged less than 10 points per game and was the Mustangs leading three-point shooter.
“Levi has really matured and we’re looking for him to be a good leader,” Forrestel said. “He gives us an inside presence who can also hit the outside shot so defenses have to respect that. So that should open up some of the guys. And we’ve got Adam who can penetrate and was our top three-point shooter.”
Seniors Anthony Session and Adam Thompson also return with some varsity experience.
Rounding out the squad are juniors Willie Jakes, Ricky Brady, Johnny Campbell, Marco Lopez, Michael Merritt, Michael Santoro and Nick Schroeder.
A key loss to graduation was Nick Peterson, a strong defender and play maker with his skillful passing.
“Nick was our lock down defender, so now we need someone to step up and fill that role and be a force on defense as we want our offense to come off our defense,” Forrestel said. “The key for us is not to turn the ball over. We make some turnovers with our uptempo offense, but we have to keep the turnovers down.”
Forrestel looks for Akron, which returns the All-league senior brother duo of Trevor and Alex Short, Wilson, which has the All-League duo of senior Ethan Baker and junior Brennan Moxham, back along with a veteran laden Albion squad, which returns four senior starters in Russell Craft, Justin Swanger, Brad Rush and Matt Monacelli to all be contenders. “The league is strong and there will be no easy games,” he said.
The Mustangs’ home opener will be Dec. 18 against CSAT.
