Boys basketball: Elyria Catholic falls to Buckeye on off-shooting night for both teams

YORK TWP. — Baskets were few and far between, but collisions and hard falls on the floor were plentiful. It was just one of those nights for Elyria Catholic and Buckeye. Shooting guard Denny Fischer scored 13 points and center Jack Kenneally had 11 points and six rebounds, but the Panthers dropped a 52-39 decision to the Bucks in Great Lakes Conference action Tuesday. The squads combined to make 10 of their first 53 shots and finished the hard-to-watch game 25-of-94 from the field. "For an inexperienced team, learning how to win games like this is part of the process," Elyria Catholic coach Rob Palmer said. "We were within two or three possessions the whole way until the final few minutes when we kept sending them to the line. "Buckeye and Bay played with young teams last year and took their lumps. We're in a similar situation now — and I like the direction we're going in and I like the talent that we have." Robert Palmer's 3-pointer pulled the Panthers within 31-30 with 6:15 left in the fourth quarter, but Buckeye answered with eight straight points highlighted by Chris Gaiter's driving layup and Caden Hudak's steal-and-score. It turned into the Danny Flood show down the stretch as the junior accounted for the Bucks' final nine points. "It was slow and it was sloppy out there tonight," said Flood, who scored a game-high 20 points with six rebounds and four steals. "We may not have been scoring, but we were getting stops. In the last two games we were very bad on defense and that's what we focused more on improving." Point guard Palmer had eight points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals for Elyria Catholic (3-7, 2-7 GLC), while senior power forward Jaret Frantz had a team-best 12 rebounds. A quadruple-overtime junior varsity slugfest forced the game to start almost 45 minutes late, setting up an uneven first half that saw the Panthers take an 18-16 lead into the break on Fischer's third 3-pointer. The action finally sped up in the final two minutes of the third, when Nick Miller converted a three-point play, layup and free throw to extend Buckeye's advantage to 31-23. "We finally found our rhythm," Gaiter said. "Both teams were very physical, so we knew we had to come out of halftime with more energy. Everybody on our team brought it." Elyria Catholic wasn't done yet, however, as it responded with a 7-0 run capped by a Palmer three. The surge included two free throws by Kenneally and Alex Carandang frustrating Buckeye's Shane Bambrick into committing a personal and technical foul. "This was a physical game on the inside and Alex really brought the energy," coach Palmer said. "He's playing through some back injuries, but we're happy to have him with us this season." Buckeye (7-4, 6-3) turned up its pressure once the Panthers got within 31-30 and held them off the scoreboard for the next 2½ minutes, turning the remainder of the game into a free throw shooting parade. The Bucks had allowed 139 total points in back-to-back losses at Bay and Fairview. "Elyria Catholic is not an easy team to play against, especially when you're giving up a couple of inches, height-wise, at most positions and they have talented guards," Buckeye coach Tom Harrington said. "I'm not sure what it was, but our guys just seemed to play much looser and got more confident once the third quarter started." Contact Brian Dulik at brisports@hotmail.com and follow him on Twitter @BrianDulik. Buckeye 52, Elyria Catholic 39 ELYRIA CATHOLIC (39): Jaret Frantz 1-0-3, Colin Kenneally 0-1-1, Jack Kenneally 3-4-11, Denny Fischer 3-4-13, Robert Palmer 3-1-8, Miles Lisner 0-0-0, Alex Carandang 1-0-3, Joey Bucci 0-0-0, Thomas Niederst 0-0-0. Totals 11-10-39. BUCKEYE (52): Caden Hudak 1-1-3, Nick Miller 3-2-9, Shane Bambrick 0-4-4, Zack Weber 1-2-4, Danny Floor 5-7-20, Chris Gaiter 3-0-7, Joey Lenarth 1-2-5, Kaymen Marshall 0-0-0. Totals 14-18-52. Elyria Catholic&emsp;&emsp;11&emsp;&emsp;7&emsp;&emsp;5&emsp;&emsp;16&emsp;&emsp;—&emsp;&emsp;39 Buckeye&emsp;&emsp; 11&emsp;&emsp;5&emsp;&emsp;15&emsp;&emsp;21&emsp; —&emsp;&emsp;52 Three-point goals: Elyria Catholic 7-25 (Fischer 3, Frantz, J.Kenneally, Palmer, Carandang), Buckeye 6-24 (Flood 3, Miller, Gaiter, Lenarth). Field goals: Elyria Catholic 11-49 (22.4 percent), Buckeye 14-45 (31.1 percent). Free throws: Elyria Catholic 10-14 (71.4 percent), 18-22 (81.8 percent). Rebounds: Elyria Catholic 28 (Frantz 12), Buckeye 33 (Miller 12). Turnovers: Elyria Catholic 12, Buckeye 12. Total fouls: Elyria Catholic 13, Buckeye 17. Junior varsity: Buckeye, 68-63 (4OT)