Boys Basketball: Lorain's struggles continue with loss to Strongsville

LORAIN — If the Lorain Titans were hoping the new year would change their fortunes, Friday was a rude awakening. Lorain trailed by 11 five minutes into its Greater Cleveland Conference game against Strongsville and things never really improved as the Mustangs pulled away for an 82-55 win. The Titans (1-9, 0-4 GCC) have lost their last six games. "Defensively we missed assignments, we couldn't rebound, it was just the perfect storm of not doing the things we were supposed to do," Lorain coach Matt Kielian said. "We were missing shots, they were making shots. They took advantage of our mistakes." Strongsville (2-7, 1-3 GCC), which won for the first time since Dec. 6, patiently waited to find seams in the Lorain defense that resulted in backdoor layups and uncontested drives to the basket all night. The Mustangs led by as many as 22 in the second quarter before going into the locker room with a 37-17 halftime lead. "It's tough because we've had some good practices this week and we've finally got everyone back but we just couldn't put it together," Kielian said. "It's on me, I take full accountability. I have to find a way to get us to play better. We have to play better." Titans junior guard Jaylen Jackson got off to a slow start — he had seven points at the two-minute mark of the third quarter — but turned it on late in a desperate attempt to will Lorain back into the game. Jackson scored 16 of Lorain's 24 fourth-quarter points on his way to finishing with a game-high-tying 25. "(Jaylen) missed the past couple games. He's been a good teammate during that stretch and has been making good decisions," Kielian said. "That's why I left him in there a little bit longer than normal so that he could get his legs back and get some confidence. He showed some passion and resilience tonight." Senior Matthew Heffke finished with 25 points, two off his season high, to lead Strongsville. Sophomore Brandon Byers (11 points) and senior Shane McIntyre (10 points) were also in double figures for the Mustangs, who came into the night averaging only 50 points a game. Lorain trailed by as many as 31 in the fourth but always found a burst of energy when the Mustangs threatened to get in position to send the game to a running clock. Sophomore Javell Morris had 11 points for Lorain and junior Jeramiah Daniels finished with seven. The good news for the Titans is that 51 of their 55 points came from sophomores and juniors. Lorain's young roster will look to grow and evolve as it approaches the second half of the season. "We know we can turn it around. I'm not giving up on them and we're not giving up on the season," Kielian said. "We'll watch some film because I think some things are happening they don't realize are happening. We show a lot of good things in practice, it's just a matter of carrying it over to the game." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Strongsville 82, Lorain 55 Strongsville (82): Brandon Byers 4-1-11, Shane McIntyre 4-0-10, Jayquan Blackman 1-0-2, Troy Croder 2-0-4, Matthew Heffke 11-1-25, Brandon Studler 1-0-2, Ayden Straub 3-1-8, Pavle Kadras 2-2-6, Abdul Awawda 3-1-8, Adrian Fuentes 3-0-6. Totals 34-6-82. Lorain (55): Nehemiah Gardner 1-0-2, Kane Tailano 2-0-4, Jeramiah Daniels 2-2-7, Brandon Serrano 0-1-1, Jaylen Jackson 11-3-25, Javell Morris 5-0-11, Dominci Andulics-Valentine 1-1-3, Abel Torres 1-0-2. Totals 23-7-55. Strongsville&emsp;17&emsp;20&emsp;23&emsp;22&emsp;—&emsp;82 Lorain&emsp;6&emsp;11&emsp;14&emsp;24&emsp;—&emsp;55 Three-point goals: Strongsville (Byers 2, McIntyre 2, Heffke 2, Straub, Awawda), Lorain (Daniels, Morris). Field goals: Strongsville 34-58 (59 percent), Lorain 23-57 (40 percent). Free throws: Strongsville 6-9 (67 percent), Lorain 7-13 (54 percent). Rebounds: Strongsville 33, Lorain 31. Turnovers: Strongsville 11, Lorain 15. Team fouls: Strongsville 10, Lorain 8. Junior varsity: Lorain, 58-46.