High school basketball: Defensive lapse haunts Lorain boys against Shaker Heights

LORAIN — In the Lake Erie League you can never led your guard down, not even for 49 seconds. That's a lesson learned by Lorain from Saturday's 59-49 loss to Shaker Heights. The Titans and the Raiders, who were both playing on the second night of back-to-back LEL games, battled basket-for-basket early in the game with the score tied, 16-16, with just over four minutes to play in the second quarter. Then, just for less than a minute, the Lorain defense let down and allowed Shaker Heights to get hot from beyond the 3-point the arc. First Jahdae Walker hit a 3-pointer to give Shaker Heights 19-16 lead, then Danny Young followed with a 3-pointer to make it a six-point Raiders lead. After a Titans turnover, Walker hit from long rang again, making the score 25-16 and forcing Lorain to play catch-up the rest of the night. Young, who came in averaging 28 points per game, was the game's leading scorer with 27 points for Shaker Heights, which improved to 6-2. "The first half we were down 12 and felt like it was an even game," Lorain coach John Rositano said. "The difference was we couldn't make a shot and (Shaker) hit three 3s in a row. That was a difference in the first half. It was a shot-making game and they made them and we didn't." It was the second night in a row Lorain (5-4) was playing without its leading scorer Seth Wilson. Wilson, a West Virginia commit who is averaging 23.3 points a game, has been sidelined with a hand injury. The Raiders maintained a 12-point lead heading into the fourth quarter but the Titans fought their way back into the game with a 9-0 run that started with a Jamir Billings 3-pointer and also included baskets from Jaco Lee and Aden Brown. Lorain was able to pull within three, 46-43, but was unable to get any closer. "We got this game down to three, we had a chance, then we just had some unfortunate calls go against us," Billings said. "Throughout the game we've got to make the easy shots. We missed some open shots and some layups and then we started missing free throws. We've got to do the little things better in order to win games." Lorain was just 6-of-17 (35 percent) from the free-throw line. Senior Kamron Thomas led the Titans with 14 points while Brown and De'Vante Jackson had nine each. "In practice we've been talking about being more aggressive and having me just go out there play how I can play," Thomas said. "My teammates were working hard and getting me the ball and i just did what I had to do." Even though Lorain only played seven players with Wilson out of the lineup, Thomas said the team was still playing with energy at the end of the game. "It used to be hard but we get used to it," Thomas said. "We run a lot in practice, we condition a lot so after a while we're prepared for it.' The Raiders also got 15 points from Walker, who scored 13 of those points in the first half. "I'm not a good loser but I'll tell you I'm proud of these guys, These guy are winners," Rositano said. "You're down 14 and our guys kept battling and fighting against one of the best teams in Ohio and we're down three with minutes to go and one play away from tying the game. "Lorain kids don't get the recognition they deserve as far as how they act, how they battle. Give Shaker credit, they are really good but our guys are right there. That was a great high school basketball game." Contact Todd Shapiro at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.