Boys Basketball: Keystone gets another win as Liam Goran and Colt Cowling strike again

LAGRANGE — Despite the lopsided score, Keystone was far from its best Friday in an 82-45 win over Clearview. "We were taking a lot of quick shots," said Keystone coach Jeff Holzhauer. "We need to be a little more patient and we've just got to get better defensively. We had some lapses with our press and our man-to-man defense." Fortunately for the Wildcats (5-0), they have Liam Goran and Colt Cowling, two of the area's best players, who came into the game averaging over 20 points each and combined for 55. "That's what they do," Holzhauer said. "Liam seemed like he was struggling, but he's so efficient, and Colt just flat out scores." Goran did have some struggles offensively, particularly from deep, as he only knocked down one three, though it was a big one, a turnaround buzzer-beater at the end of the first half that gave Keystone a boost after Clearview's best few minutes of the game. "We didn't handle the pressure real well in the first," said Clearview coach Bobby Gossom. "But in the second, we did a much better job, then that almost half-court shot was kind of deflating after we had a stretch of a few good minutes." Despite his struggles from deep, Goran was an efficient 12-for-17 from inside the arc and was able to impact the game even when his shot wasn't falling. "When I wasn't hitting outside shots, I just knew I had to get close to the rim and make some layups," Goran said. "I had to make some midrange, and anything just to get me going a little bit, so that's what I had to do." Cowling had similar early struggles from deep, but started to find his stroke in the second quarter, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers before hitting four in the second half. "I couldn't really get it going in the first half," Cowling said. "In the second half, I got the feeling and it was way better." Going into Friday's game, Cowling was shooting 50 percent from three for the season, and even though his percentage will drop slightly after going 6-for-14, it was still a sign of the improvement he has made in his outside shooting. "I worked on my shot a lot in the offseason," Cowling said. "I make sure to get a lot of elevation on my shot, and that helps me out with a lot of different things." Goran and Cowling form one of the most formidable partnerships in Lorain County, if not the entire state, and not only do they give Keystone plenty of room for error, they take a good deal of pressure off each other. "It's amazing knowing that on offense, I can just pass it to him," Goran said. "He can score at will from anywhere on the court, so it's been really fun." For Clearview, Friday's loss was its fifth in a row to start the season, but for a team lacking in varsity experience, playing a team as good as Keystone can provide some value. "We had stretches where we played really well and we played together," Gossom said. "It's just us figuring out how to play together, and what group plays well together, and then being consistent with it. I thought there were stretches where we did some nice things, defended well and ran our stuff and got some good looks, they just didn't go in." Clearview will get its next chance to record its first win against Oberlin on Tuesday, and Keystone will take on Columbia that same night in its next Lorain County League game. Contact Will Cunningham at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Keystone 82, Clearview 45 Clearview (45): Nysir Houston 0-0-0, Tristin Ientile 0-1-1, Deacon Delgado 3-4-10, Germell Wilson 2-0-4, Nehemiah Rodriguez 0-0-0, Brayden Pearson 0-3-3, De'Zonn Chapman 5-0-10, Juelz Chapman 2-0-5, Montez Sanchez-Miller 1-0-2, Michael O'Neal 0-0-0, Damir Mosley 3-4-10, Joe Stephens 0-0-0. Totals 16-12-45. Keystone (82): Reed Grams 0-0-0, Liam Goran 13-1-28, Ty Holzhauer 2-1-6, Brendan Hagerman 0-0-0, Mason Grams 0-0-0, Devin Thigpen-Walker 1-0-3, Emory Fedor 5-2-12, Bobby Gurich 3-0-6, Isaac Devore 0-0-0, Colt Cowling 9-3-27. Totals 33-7-82. Clearview 9 17 11 8 — 45 Keystone 21 19 26 16 — 82 Three point field goals: Clearview (Chapman), Keystone (Cowling 6, Goran, Holzhauer, Thigpen-Walker). Field goals: Clearview 16-39 (41 percent), Keystone 33-64 (51.6 percent). Free throws: Clearview 12-14 (85.7 percent), Keystone 7-10 (70 percent). Rebounds: Clearview 14, Keystone 31. Turnovers: Clearview 16, Keystone 7. Team fouls: Clearview 9, Keystone 19. Junior varsity: Keystone, 45-22.