Boys Basketball: Elyria jumps on Avon, picks up key SWC victory

AVON — Coaches will tell you teams can't win a game in the first quarter but they can lose one. Well, Elyria went a long way toward a victory in the first eight minutes Friday, jumping all over Avon to pull off an important 78-64 Southwestern Conference victory. Elyria (10-3, 5-2) remained a game behind frontrunning Berea-Midpark, while Avon (9-3, 4-3) has fallen two games off the pace. The Pioneers played perhaps their best first quarter this season and probably their best half in rolling out to a 24-6 lead after one and 44-21 at halftime. They shot 18-of-27 from the field (66 percent), including making half of their 12 3-point attempts. Elyria outrebounded Avon 19-9 and forced eight turnovers in the first half to make Brett Larrick a happy coach, especially coming off a disheartening loss at home to Berea-Midpark on Tuesday. "That first half might have been the most focused we've been in all areas," said Larrick. "We pressed, we defended the half court and didn't give them anything easy. We rebounded and finished the possession, which was huge. We were able to get out and run." "We still had a nasty taste in our mouth from the last loss," said Tink Shelton, who played a great defensive game against Avon's top scorer, junior Joey Ziegler. "I feel like that wasn't us. We wanted to come out and show (Avon) that we're still the No. 1 in this conference." Ziegler wound up with 14 points to lead the Eagles but only had six in the first half. Shelton, a pesky 5-foot-5 junior, scored nine points for the Pioneers and made a statement right off the bat with a pullup jumper and 3-pointer to spark a 9-0 run to start the game. "I thought Tink set a tone, making everything tough on Ziegler," Larrick said. "He had 14 but it was a tough-earned 14. (Ziegler) is having a great year. He's really, really good. I thought our guys did a nice job being focused on what we wanted to do." "Coach has been preaching to us since Tuesday he didn't like our defense," said Shelton. "He said we have to stay up, pressure them. (Avon) couldn't handle the pressure like Berea did. Once we smell blood, it's up from there." Four players — Kendyll Compton (17 points), Rondell Grimmett (15), Seth Wilkerson (12) and Cam Bell (11) — were in double figures, with Shelton and Jermiah Daniels contributing nine apiece. Daniels left the game after a nasty collision inside in which he rolled his ankle. The extent of his injury won't be known until later today. Grimmett had only two points on three shots against the Titans but was in top form Friday. "I feel like Berea really tried hard to take me away," said Grimmett, who not only had 15 points (6-of-11 shooting) but had seven rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists. "I really didn't get a lot of touches (against Berea-Midpark). Avon really didn't and you see what happens when we have a great game." Avon coach Mike Fitch was disappointed with the loss. It stopped an eight-game winning streak dating to the first two conference games, losses to Olmsted Falls and Berea-Midpark. "We weren't ready to go," he said. "(Elyria) brought intensity. They brought physicality and we just backed down. We backed down from it. They made us play who we aren't and it snowballed from there." To Avon's credit, it whittled the lead in the second half. The Eagles forced seven of Elyria's 13 turnovers in the fourth quarter and made 16 of their 18 free throws for the game. Junior Brooks Good scored 10 points while junior Dean Abdul pulled in five rebounds. The conference race is still wide open. Berea-Midpark has the lead but Elyria and Falls are a game back with Avon and Amherst two back. Contact Tim Gebhardt at (440) 329-7135 or timothygeb@msn.com. Elyria 78, Avon 64 Elyria (78): Cam Bell 4-2-11, Rondell Grimmett 6-1-15, Seth Wilkerson 6-0-12, Tink Shelton 3-2-9, Kendyll Compton 7-0-17, Jermiah Daniels 4-0-9, Micah Jackson 2-0-5, Ethan Rogers 0-0-0, Christian Rogers 0-0-0, Isaiah Hill 0-0-0, Mike Lawrence 0-0-0, Khalil Washington 0-0-0, Arris Malone 0-0-0. Totals 32-5-78. Avon (64): Gavin Kittleberger 1-6-8, Dean Abdul 3-0-6, Joey Ziegler 4-6-14, Brooks Good 5-0-10, Sam Griffiths 2-0-4, Trevor Sykora 4-0-8, Caden Clapham 2-0-5, Shane Carty 1-0-3, Preston Johnson 1-4-6, Luke Fox 0-0-0, Caden Krugman 0-0-0, Kyle Partridge 0-0-0, Carson Wodoslawski 0-0-0. Totals 23-16-64. Elyria&emsp;24&emsp;20&emsp;23&emsp;11&emsp;—&emsp;78 Avon&emsp;6&emsp;15&emsp;24&emsp;19&emsp;—&emsp;64 Three-point goals: Elyria 9-23 (Compton 3, Grimmett 2, Bell, Shelton, Daniels, Jackson), Avon 2-10 (Clapham, Carty). Field goals: Elyria 32-59 (54 percent), Avon 23-49 (47 percent). Free throws: Elyria 5-7 (71 percent), Avon 16-18 (88 percent). Rebounds: Elyria 32 (Compton 8), Avon 21 (Abdul 5). Turnovers: Elyria 13, Avon 16. Fouls: Elyria 18, Avon 11. Junior varsity: Avon, 57-39.