Sectional Boys Basketball: Elyria's MarSaun Robinson wins game with buzzer-beater

GRANGER TWP. — Elyria hadn't played in 18 days leading into Wednesday's Division I Northeast sectional semifinal with No. 18 Highland. It had only practiced three times in a month. MarSaun Robinson practiced less than that, so a win by the 25th-seeded Pioneers seemed improbable. It ended with an incredible buzzer beater from 35 feet by the Elyria guard and the Pioneers moved on with a 49-46 win. "I didn't want this to be my last game," Robinson said. "I definitely didn't want to go out like that. For them to come back on a free throw like that, I didn't want to lose like that. "I'm just thinking something has to go up. I shot it to obviously make it, but the chances of that are slim. You never know in that situation because the refs might say it's not good. I see everybody getting rowdy, so I was happy and excited." The Pioneers (5-8) will play at sixth-seeded Bedford (8-1) on Saturday thanks to Robinson's shot and Elyria finding enough to hold off the pesky Hornets (12-11). Up by as many as 14 in the third quarter and looking like they were going to coast to a win, the Pioneers watched Highland come back on the back of Josh Lees. Playing on dead legs, Elyria didn't have an answer for Lees, who scored all of his 10 fourth-quarter points in the final 1:19 to bring Highland back from the dead. With 6.2 seconds left, Lees made the first free throw and missed the second shot on purpose. He put back his own rebound to tie things up with 2.3 seconds remaining. That set up the heroics by Robinson. "(Robinson) said he had to make up for his missed free throws (he was 1-for-9) and he showed his character to keep going," Elyria coach Brett Larrick said. "The funny part is we practice game-winners. We do them almost every day and I don't know if he made one this year, but he saved a good time to make one. He'll get a Gatorade tomorrow." The shot was so improbable, Evan Miceli, who works for the Highland technology club, had to grab a tape measure to see just how far Robinson chucked it. After taking the inbounds pass from Lance Glover on the left-hand side, Robinson took three dribbles before heaving the game-winner with Lees draped all over him. "I was just trying to keep him in front of me and from getting too close to the basket," Lees said. "I didn't want to foul him because they were in the double bonus and if he's shooting a three, he gets three free throws. If I foul him and he's not shooting, it's still two free throws. "It's heartbreaking. We fought back into the game. We've had a lot of close games. It's fitting that it comes down to a close game, but like I said, it's just heartbreaking that that shot went in." Heartbreaking for the Hornets, but uplifting for the Pioneers. While it took a buzzer beater to win, team ball was what it was all about. Dez Shelton (nine points, three assists), Graig Mogus (16 points, seven rebounds) and Tre'Von West (six points, four rebounds) made sure Elyria kept Highland at arm's length. Next up is a Bedford squad that hasn't lost since its season opener. "We need to make our free throws and rebound every time," Mogus said. "We need to body up. It's playoff ball. That's how you get a win." Contact Brad Bournival at bournival929@gmail.com. Elyria 49, Highland 46 ELYRIA (49): Dez Shelton 3-3-9, Graig Mogus 5-3-16, Tre'Von West 3-0-6, Omar Palos 0-0-0, Jahkai Owens 0-0-0, MarSaun Robinson 6-1-14, Jaylen Brown 0-0-0, Lance Glover 0-0-0, Isaiah Johnson 2-0-4. Totals 19-7-49. HIGHLAND (46): Rob Huttner 7-2-16, Hunter Winston 2-2-6, Josh Lees 6-1-14, Will Hoynes 0-1-1, Carson Levandowski 0-0-0, Rian Klein 2-0-5, Adam Coss 0-0-0, Aaron Filips 1-2-4. Totals 18-8-46. Elyria&emsp;&emsp;11&emsp;&emsp;11&emsp;&emsp;11&emsp;&emsp;16&emsp;&emsp;—&emsp;&emsp;49Highland&emsp;&emsp;4&emsp;&emsp;9&emsp;&emsp;13&emsp;&emsp;20&emsp;&emsp;—&emsp;&emsp;45 Three-point goals: Mogus 3, Robinson, Klein, Filips. Rebounds: Elyria 31 (Mogus 7), Highland 31 (Levandowski 7). Assists: Elyria 11 (Mogus 4), Highland 10 (Filips 4).