Boys Basketball: Amherst begins season in style, routing North Olmsted at DiFranco Classic

EATON TWP. — Amherst has high hopes this year. If every game is like the season opener at the 25th Annual DiFranco Classic, the Comets will win a lot of games. Amherst was nearly flawless in its first eight minutes of the season, scoring the first 26 points against North Olmsted as it cruised to a 91-30 win at Midview High School on Wednesday. "We know we have to set the tone on defense, we gotta be physical, we gotta have the energy and that's how we came out," Amherst coach Pat Bray said. "We were doubling every time there was a ball screen or handoff and we were jumping passing lanes to get the lead." And what a lead it was. The Comets forced 10 turnovers in the first eight minutes and turned most of them into easy buckets on the other end. Jack Coleman was at the head of the first-quarter layup line, scoring six of his game-high 20 points. "We wanna win the SWC, we want to go deep in the playoffs, we are putting in the practice and really running the ball up the court and share it," Coleman said. "We wanted to set the tone for the season for sure, we were just getting out on the break from steals on defense. We wanted to make a statement." One thing Amherst did in the first quarter was show off its depth, as eight players made their way into the scorebook. In addition to Coleman's six, Mason Lymer had five with a 3-pointer, Stanley Robinson and Cole Scanlon each hit a 3-pointer, Zach Anderson dropped in three free throws, while David Dudziak, Cy Christensen and Peyton Leibacher each added a field goal. Scanlon (17), Lymer (13) and Dudziak (10) joined Coleman in double-figure scoring. The Comets nearly pitched a shutout to start the year, with the only North Olmsted field goal of the first quarter coming with 23 seconds left as Anthony D'Allessandro scored on a layup to end the scoring streak for Amherst. The Comets went 10-for-17 (59 percent) in the first quarter and somehow got even better, going 15-of-22 (68 percent) in the second, finishing the half making their last eight shots from the field. Amherst had a commanding 60-13 halftime lead and a running clock for the final 16 minutes of the game that saw all Comets in uniform get plenty of playing time. Contact James Brady at (440) 329-7135 or jbrady_ct@yahoo.com. AMHERST 91, NORTH OLMSTED 30 NORTH OLMSTED (30): Andrew Hafley 2-0-4, Anthony D'Allessandro 1-1-3, Cameron Massimiami 0-0-0, Jake Perkins 1-0-2, Brett Zatta 1-1-3, Nick Fritini 0-0-0, Chuck Shuck 2-0-6, Cory Kraft 0-0-0, Desean Knight 1-0-2, Dominic Martin 2-1-5, Billal Suilaman 2-1-5. Totals 12-4-30. AMHERST (91): Jack Coleman 10-0-20, Cole Scanlon 6-1-17, David Dudziak 4-2-10, Staney Robinson 1-2-5, Peyton Leibacher 4-0-9, Cy Christensen 3-0-6, Mason Lymer 6-0-13, Evan Feracy 1-0-2, Andrew Balicki 1-0-2, Gavin Beckler 0-0-0, Zach Anderson 2-3-7. Totals 38-8-91. North Olmsted &emsp;&emsp;2 &emsp;&emsp;11 5 &emsp;&emsp;12 — &emsp;&emsp;30 Amherst &emsp;&emsp; &emsp;&emsp;26 34 21 10 — &emsp;&emsp;91 Three-point goals: North Olmsted 2-9 (22 percent, Shuck 2), Amherst 7-15 (47 percent, Scanlon 4, Robinson, Leibacher, Lymer). Field goals: North Olmsted 12-28 (43 percent); Amherst 38-60 (63 percent). Free throws: North Olmsted 4-12 (33 percent); Amherst 8-10 (80 percent). Rebounds: North Olmsted 13, Amherst 30 Turnovers: North Olmsted 25, Amherst 7