Boys Basketball: Dominique Stampers' big second half sparks Elyria Catholic over Holy Name

PARMA HEIGHTS — At halftime of Elyria Catholic's 59-35 win over Holy Name on Tuesday, it looked like the Panthers were going to be dragged into a battle with the 3-10 Green Wave. The Panthers led 27-20 and were puling away part way through the second quarter. Things changed suddenly when the Green Wave went on a 6-0 run and the half ended with EC on top by one. It didn't take long for the visitors to turn things around in the second half, however, as they opened the quarter with a 10-0 run that prompted a Holy Name timeout and a 37-26 EC lead. "Coach knew we weren't playing like ourselves," said EC sophomore Dominique Stamper. "He knew we'd been off, and he just had to light a spark in us so we could come out and play in the second half." Stamper was a big part of that second half run, hitting his third and fourth threes of the night in the opening minutes. In addition to finishing second on the team with 14 points, his passing was spot on all night as he did a good job running the Panthers' offense. "He's one of the best pure point guards in our league," said Elyria Catholic coach Jason Smith. "He was smart with the ball, he got us into what we needed to do, and he's only a sophomore. He's got an extremely high IQ with the ball, and he's one of the better shooters on the team." "I feel like my driving was the main key," Stamper said. "Every time a defender stepped up when I drove to the middle, it was an open guy on the block that I could kick the ball to for an easy layup. And my shot felt really good." Stamper's highlight play came midway through the second quarter with the Panthers leading 17-14, the closest the game had been since the opening minutes. He drove to the free throw line, spun away from a defender, and, while falling sideways, flicked a pass behind his back for a three from Purvie Smallwood III that sparked a 10-0 Elyria Catholic run. "I saw the defender was overplaying," Stamper said. "I usually do a spin, so I did, and when I didn't see the shot was there, but I saw Purvie in the corner, so I kicked it to him and he hit the shot." While that run was not enough to put Holy Name away, Elyria Catholic's dominant, 32-15 second half was plenty to secure a third straight win, powered by a strong halftime talk from Smith. "It was a positive message about defense," he said. "We haven't practiced in four days, so I didn't know what to expect. I knew our shooting probably wasn't going to be the greatest, so our biggest message was to hunt the great shots. We haven't shot a lot, so contested threes probably weren't going to be our game tonight." Led by Stamper's passing, the Panthers got plenty of layups, most of them coming from Matisse Williams, who led the team with 15 points, and Kingston Daniels, who provided 11 off the bench. Elyria Catholic has won six of its last eight games, and has a great opportunity to extend that run when it hosts Lake Catholic next Tuesday. Elyria Catholic 59, Holy Name 35 ELYRIA CATHOLIC (59): Dominique Stamper 5-0-14, Purvie Smallwood III 2-0-5, Braden Oakes 0-0-0, Matisse Williams 7-0-15, Donovan Shumpert 2-5-9, Kingston Daniels 5-1-11, Ben Essenmacher 2-0-5, Jeremiah Benjamin 0-0-0, Robbie Duray 0-0-0. Totals 23-6-59. HOLY NAME (35): Pay Kelley 3-0-6, Eso Gonzalez 1-0-2, Brayden Heimann 1-0-2, Christopher Hyatt 2-2-4, Evan Stec 2-0-4, Joe Svetz 4-1-11, Camron Leach 0-0-0, Carter Varga 1-0-2, Connor Jamison 1-0-2, Logan DiMarino 1-0-2. Totals 16-3-35. Elyria Catholic&emsp;14&emsp;13&emsp;18&emsp;14&emsp;—&emsp;59 Holy Name&emsp;9&emsp;11&emsp;6&emsp;9&emsp;—&emsp;35 Three point goals: Elyria Catholic (Stamper 4, Smallwood, Williams, Essenmacher), Holy Name (Svetz 2). Field goals: Elyria Catholic 23-46 (50 percent), Holy Name 16-56 (28.6 percent). Free throws: Elyria Catholic 6-7 (85.7 percent), Holy Name 3-8 (37.5 percent). Rebounds: Elyria Catholic 29, Holy Name 25. Turnovers: Elyria Catholic 17, Holy Name 18. Team fouls: Elyria Catholic 9, Holy Name 13. Junior varsity: Elyria Catholic, 61-46.