BARBERTON — The Revere boys basketball team played the spoiler role Friday night on Greynolds Floor.
The home fans dressed in purple, black and white were excited to see Barberton alum Chad Hazard make his debut as the Magics coach .
Hazard was hired to turn around a team that finished winless last season.
He came very close to getting a win in his first attempt, but senior Evan Oravecz led Revere to a 61-60 victory in a Suburban League American Conference game.
The visitors in black uniforms with blue and white trim won with better shooting.
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Reigning SLAC champion Revere — which has one returning starter in senior Carson Banks — held an edge in 3-pointers (8-5) and free throws (11-5).
"It was really nice to see our guys that played a lot of JV last year make that transition to varsity and make plays," Revere coach Dean Rahas said . "Our JV team was undefeated at 20-0 last year. This was a big game. Barberton is very good with the new guys they have. They are a new and improved team. Coach Hazard has got those guys playing hard, and for our guys to have our first league game on the road with a bunch of new guys for us, guys without varsity experience, and to keep their composure speaks volumes about our guys.
"I felt comfortable the whole game, even when we were down seven in the third quarter. ... I am really proud of my players. It is always tough to win on the road."
Oravecz had 23 points and five assists for Revere , which went 19-5 last season and has won the SLAC championship in four out of the past six seasons.
"This is a good win," said Oravecz, who made four 3-pointers, five free throws and two layups. "We are all coming together. We were talking about that in the locker room at practice. Guys are stepping up. ... We are trusting each other."
Revere junior Massimo Manera was one of the guys who stepped up, finishing with 12 points.
"I feel like everyone has known when to step up and how to," Manera said. "This game shows that. We have new players stepping up to varsity."
Manera is one of the players who elevated up from the JV team to the varsity.
"It felt great to contribute to this win," Manera said. "This was fun."
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Banks had eight points and five assists and senior Greg Cochran contributed eight points and five rebounds.
"It is a little different with four new starters, but I have been playing with these guys since elementary school," said Banks, who had a nice two-hand dunk in the fourth quarter. "I trust them."
Revere junior Christian Rached contributed three points and seven rebounds.
"We were down for a little bit and then we came back to win this game," Cochran said.
Manera made one of two free throws to give Revere a 61-57 lead with 14.7 seconds to play. Barberton junior De'Arion Holley made one of two free throws with 1.8 seconds left, grabbed a rebound and made a jumper as time expired to conclude the scoring.
"The crowd was great," said Hazard, a 2000 Barberton graduate who scored more than 1,000 career points. "The crowd was amazing, even better than I thought it would be. The support is unbelievable here. To have that kind of crowd for a team that hasn't won in a long time is amazing.
"I thought we wanted it, but I didn't think we played well at all."
Holley paced Barberton with 27 points, 13 rebounds, four blocks and three assists. He made two 3-pointers, six layups, three free throws, two jumpers and a dunk.
Magics junior Kardiay Tyler totaled nine points, five rebounds and five assists and junior Kameryn Kennerly had nine points and five rebounds. Senior Mike Jones added eight points, six rebounds and four steals.
Holley and Tyler and transferred from East and Kennerly transferred from Firestone .
"We will get better," said Hazard, who previously coached at East and Ellet . "Our guys played really hard. I don't think we played smart and I don't think I coached one of my greatest games, honestly. I am trying to get a feel for some of these guys. It is different. It is new for everybody.
"... Give credit to Revere. I thought they had a good game plan. They kind of took our point guard out of the game and we struggled with that. Hats off to them. They have been there and done that. They look like a seasoned group. Dean is a veteran coach who has won a lot of games."
Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Revere boys basketball team spoils Barberton's special night
