Boys basketball: Elyria falters in fourth quarter, falls to East Tech at NEO Classic

GARFIELD HTS. — Elyria outscored East Tech in the second and third quarters Saturday afternoon, but the fourth was a completely different story. As a result, the Pioneers were unable to withstand the Scarabs' furious comeback. East Tech limited Elyria to just four points in the fourth quarter in handing the Pioneers a 46-41 loss at the 2019 NEO Youth Elite Christmas Classic at Garfield Heights High School. "They executed," Elyria coach Brett Larrick said of the Scarabs' dominance in the fourth quarter. "They passed the ball. They made plays. They trapped us a couple times and we turned it over. We trapped them and they made the right passes for layups." Elyria took a 37-33 lead into the fourth quarter but the Scarabs went on a 7-0 run over the first three-plus minutes to go up 40-37. Still, the Pioneers had a quick answer when guard Daylan Sharlow caught a pass in the right corner and buried a game-tying 3-pointer with 3:25 to play. That, however, was as good as it got for the Pioneers, who scored just one more point the rest of the game. "Really, our whole conversation for the week was just like, 'Let's focus on the defensive end,' so I changed the lineup, put a more defensive lineup in," East Tech coach Brett Moore Sr. said. "The fourth quarter was just a reflection of our practices all week. We had very intense practices. I had some alums come back and help us out, and they transferred the energy to the game. "This is the first time, and I hate to say this, they didn't fold under the pressure of being down late in the game. They came through." East Tech forced Elyria into five turnovers on its first six possessions of the fourth quarter and held the Pioneers without a shot attempt the first two minutes. Additionally, East Tech gave up only one two-point attempt and held a 7-3 edge in rebounds in the fourth quarter. For the game, East Tech held a 40-27 advantage in rebounds and limited Elyria to just 39 shot attempts because of its 21 turnovers. "Turnovers and hustle plays, deflections, rebounds, that all adds up to being ready," Larrick said. "Lack of boxing out, lack of playing the right way." Larrick said there was "not much" positive the Pioneers could take away from the loss and build on over the second half of the season, other than to play with the same level of intensity for four quarters. "We've got to be ready to play and we weren't," Larrick said. "They kind of came in in the same boat as us. They struggled their last couple games. He made some changes and they did a good job of getting what they wanted. They were very patient. We wanted to speed it up, bring some energy, and we didn't do that. We just had a lack of effort the whole game. Lack of effort, lack of execution. They were ready to play and we weren't." Contact Matt Florjancic at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. East Tech 46, Elyria 41 EAST TECH (46): Chris Peoples 4-2-12, Terrion Ellis 3-0-6, Antoinne Morgan 1-0-2, Ronald Jenkins Jr. 3-3-9, Sammar Cannon 1-0-2, Marcos Vazquez 4-1-10, Roosevelt Guins 0-0-0, Devonte Green 1-0-2, Jordan Huff 1-1-3. Totals 18-7-46. ELYRIA (41): Aiden Carter 0-0-0, MarSaun Robinson 6-0-14, Dezaron Shelton 4-2-11, Daylan Sharlow 1-0-3, Jahmil Reed 0-0-0, Ceaser Jeter 0-1-1, Chaz Smith 1-0-2, Josh Mueller 0-0-0, Jesse Stevens III 3-0-7, Tyren Lee 0-0-0, Omar Palos 1-0-3. Totals 16-3-41. East Tech 7 &emsp;&emsp;9 &emsp;&emsp;17 13 -- 46 Elyria &emsp;&emsp;3 &emsp;&emsp;12 22 4 &emsp;&emsp;-- 41 Three-point goals: East Tech 3-18 (16.7 percent; Peoples 2, Vazquez), Elyria 6-16 (37.5 percent; Robinson 2, Shelton, Sharlow, Stevens, Palos). Field Goals: East Tech 18-58 (31 percent), Elyria 16-39 (41 percent). Free throws: East Tech 7-13 (53.8 percent), Elyria 3-5 (60. percent). Rebounds: East Tech 40, Elyria 27. Turnovers: East Tech 15, Elyria 21. Technical Fouls: None. Fouled Out: None.