Boys basketball: Jayden Crutcher ties school record as Elyria runs past Valley Forge

ELYRIA — Jayden Crutcher got hot and Elyria rolled to its 10th win of the season, 89-46, Tuesday night against Valley Forge in non-conference play. Crutcher's nine 3-pointers tied the school record set by Louis Tumblin in 2006 at Parma. He hit nine of his 13 attempts from beyond the arc and added a 2-pointer and a free throw for 30 points. "It was a fun game, especially with the games we've got coming up," Crutcher said. "It helped my shooting out. The teams coming up, we really have to focus on, work hard every day to try and get better. We want to win the conference." "Obviously, Jayden got hot," said Elyria coach Brett Larrick. "Our guys pushing the tempo and finding him. I know he went inside to (Xavier) Church, B.J. (Todd) and Cam (Bell). We executed." Church, Todd and Bell combined for 18 points and seven rebounds. Elyria (10-5 overall, 7-2 Southwestern Conference) gets right back into league play with a tough challenge at North Ridgeville on Friday. "We've got two big days to get ready," Larrick said. "We're getting there. We keep talking about getting better each day." It didn't start like it would be a rout. Valley Forge (2-12 with 10 straight losses) hit six of its eight first-quarter field goal attempts, including four 3-pointers, to ease out to a 16-14 lead at the first break. However, Elyria forced seven first-quarter turnovers and the pressure turned the game into a track meet. Valley Forge turned it over 25 times to only 10 for Elyria. "We wanted to speed it up," Larrick said. "We knew we were going to play full-court, trap. Played a little slower than we wanted to start the game (5-of-15 from the field in the first quarter). They hit some shots. We missed some rotations. Eventually, we sped it up the second quarter, third quarter, which is what we wanted. "We made it a 94-foot game. We wanted to push the tempo and for really the first time we've seen a zone, we did a really nice job attacking it." Despite playing without its second-leading scorer, Taylor Blanton, Elyria outscored the Patriots 51-13 over the middle two quarters to build the lead to running-clock proportions at 65-29 after three. Crutcher had tied the 3-point mark by that point. Blanton missed the game due to sickness. The Pioneers' bench put the finishing touches on the win by outscoring Valley Forge 24-17 in the fourth. Nicolas Rogers probably earned future playing time with his hustle at mop up time. He scored 12 points in the fourth quarter and led the team with seven rebounds. "Definitely, I feel really good," said Rogers, whose younger brother Christian added a field goal in the final stages. "My teammates got me the ball and this win will give us momentum going forward." "We need guys ready to step in," Larrick said. "We didn't have Taylor tonight so D.C. (Darrion Crawford), Rondell (Grimmett), Nic (Rogers) came into the guard spots. We want to play more guys." Bell scored 10 points and had three rebounds. Grimmett added nine points. Pierre Alston chipped in six with three rebounds. Contact Tim Gebhardt at 329-7135 or timothygeb@msn.com. Elyria 89, Valley Forge 46 VALLEY FORGE (46): Nick Mankins 3-1-10, Eddie McTear 0-1-1, Terry Robinson 3-0-7, Tyler Chong 6-0-13, Hayden Moser 0-1-1, Cam Wadsworth 5-0-14, Adam Flora 0-0-0, Matt Davis-Meadows 0-0-0, Ethan Anthony 0-0-0, Sincere Duncan 0-0-0. Totals 17-3-46. ELYRIA (89): Laron Anderson-Oliver 0-1-1, Darrion Crawford 2-0-5, Jayden Crutcher 10-1-30, Xavier Church 1-0-2, B.J.Todd 2-2-6, Cam Bell 3-3-10, Jermiah Daniels 3-0-6, Rondell Grimmett 3-2-9, Pierre Alston 3-0-6, Nicolas Rogers 6-0-12, Christian Rogers 1-0-2. Totals 34-9-89. Valley Forge 16 7 6 17 — 46 Elyria 14 26 25 24 —89 Three-point goals: Valley Forge 9-21 (Wadsworth 4, Mankins 3, Robinson, Chong), Elyria 12-23 (Crutcher 9, Crawford, Bell, Grimmett). Field goals: Valley Forge 17-37 (46 percent), Elyria 34-55 (62 percent). Free throws: Valley Forge 3-6 (50 percent), Elyria 9-11 (82 percent). Rebounds: Valley Forge 19 (McTear 6), Elyria 25 (N.Rogers 7). Turnovers: Valley Forge 25, Elyria 10. Fouls: Valley Forge 5, Elyria 9. Fouled Out: None. Junior varsity: Elyria, 53-18