Boys Basketball: Cam Bell leads Elyria past Avon Lake, as Pioneers remain in thick of SWC race

ELYRIA — Cam Bell played perhaps his best game of the year as Elyria stayed within striking distance of league-leading Berea-Midpark and Olmsted Falls by downing Avon Lake 79-57 on Friday in Southwestern Conference play. Bell not only scored 15 points but grabbed a handful of rebounds and played an active role in the Pioneers defense that forced the Shoremen into 21 turnovers. He felt his teammates had as much to do with his effort and stat line as he did. "I think I played hard but it wasn't just me," said Bell, a senior with four years of varsity experience. "If it was just me playing hard and everybody else playing lazy, none of the stuff I did would show up on the sheet. It's really all of us." Elyria, two-time defending SWC champion, improved to 12-4 overall and 7-3 in the league. With Berea-Midpark losing at Avon and Olmsted Falls winning against Amherst, the Pioneers are just a game behind both. Avon Lake fell to 4-12, 2-9. Pioneers coach Brett Larrick was happy with the effort all around. "You have to earn wins," he said. "You still have to come out and play. Avon Lake has gotten better. They're used to their coach now. T.J.'s (Kwasniak) been there awhile. If you watched the last few games, they were really good against Midview and they were real close with Amherst." Bell was joined by Jermiah Daniels at the top of the scoring list for Elyria. Daniels played his first game since rolling his ankle at Avon a couple of weeks ago and looked sharp, scoring 15 points, grabbing four rebounds and dishing out a number of assists. The Pioneers are still without Tink Shelton, out with a shoulder injury. Micah Jackson (10 points), Seth Wilkerson (eight points, five rebounds) and Ethan Rogers (seven points, three rebounds) also played well. "You look at our first game, it was over at halftime," said Kwasniak, recalling Elyria's 70-39 win earlier in the season. "I was happy with our effort. We weren't smart at times. We're going to have to run four or five passes on offense. We make one pass and shoot. We got away with it the first half. It was kind of fool's gold. "(Elyria) stopped doubling us. They just put pressure and pressure busts pipes. We don't see a team that does what they do to us." The Shoremen stayed close in the first half, trailing by seven at the break, but the Pioneers outscored Avon Lake 14-4 to start the second half to build the lead to 51-34. That, in essence, was the ballgame. One big bright spot for the Shoremen was the play of freshman Christopher Gaulding, who led Avon Lake with 14 points and pulled in five rebounds. Gaulding was able to finish around the basket. Ezra Jones dropped in 11 points and Liam Besaw 10 for Avon Lake. Elyria takes part in the Tourney Tune-Up at the Berg today at Margaretta. The Pioneers take on St. Francis DeSales, a state tournament team from a year ago, at 6 p.m. There are three other boys games on tap, including Keystone against Genoa. The girls take the spotlight Sunday, including Avon Lake against Bellevue. Contact Tim Gebhardt at (440) 329-7135 or timothygeb@msn.com. Elyria 79, Avon Lake 57 Avon Lake (57): Ezra Jones 4-2-11, Luke Gillespie 1-1-4, Jacob Cooke 1-0-3, Tucker Budzar 2-0-4, Liam Besaw 4-0-10, Christopher Gaulding 7-0-14, Jeffrey Ball 2-0-4, J.J. Bradley 1-1-3, Chase Cartwright 1-0-3, Juewlius Ross 0-0-0, Mason Ambrose 0-1-1. Totals 23-5-57. Elyria (79): Cam Bell 6-1-15, Rondell Grimmett 3-1-9, Jermiah Daniels 7-0-15, Seth Wilkerson 3-2-8, Kendyll Compton 3-0-8, Christian Rogers 1-0-3, Micah Jackson 4-0-10, Ethan Rogers 3-1-7, Isaiah Hill 0-0-0, Khalil Washington 0-0-0, Arris Malone 1-0-2, Mike Lawrence 1-0-2. Totals 32-5-79. Avon Lake&emsp;17&emsp;13&emsp;14&emsp;13&emsp;—&emsp;57 Elyria&emsp;23&emsp;14&emsp;23&emsp;19&emsp;—&emsp;79 Three-point goals: Avon Lake 6-17 (Besaw 2, Jones, Gillespie, Cooke, Cartwright), Elyria 10-26 (Bell 2, Grimmett 2, Compton 2, Jackson 2, Daniels, C. Rogers). Field goals: Avon Lake 23-47 (49 percent), Elyria 32-64 (50 percent). Free throws: Avon Lake 5-8 (62.5 percent), Elyria 5-9 (55 percent). Rebounds: Avon Lake 26 (Budzar 6), Elyria 30 (Bell 5, Wilkerson 5). Turnovers: Avon Lake 21, Elyria 10. Fouls: Avon Lake 13, Elyria 13. Technical: Jones. Junior varsity: Elyria 57-44.