Boys Basketball: Elyria has a blast, cruises past Midview

ELYRIA — Senior Night turned into fun night Friday for the Pioneers. Elyria rolled to an 81-40 victory over Midview in Southwestern Conference play and is tied with Olmsted Falls and Berea-Midpark for first place with two games to play after Falls' win over the Titans. Elyria (14-5, 9-3) finishes its conference schedule at Berea-Midpark on Friday and at home vs. Avon the following week with a chance to grab at least a share of its third straight championship. Midview (2-16, 0-12) lost for the 10th straight time. "It was a little more special for the seniors," said Jeremiah Daniels, one of eight on the Pioneers. "I tried to not shoot it more but just make every shot I could." Daniels made quite a few of them on his way to a career-high 29 points. He was 11-of-16 from the floor and knocked down seven 3-pointers. "I thought it was a good night," said Elyria coach Brett Larrick. "Started all seniors, brought the rest of the seniors in. Played a lot of guys. A little slow start getting the tempo ramped up. That's what it is. I thought we got going with a lot of energy." Larrick started Christian Rogers, Isaiah Hill, Khalil Washington and Mike Lawrence along with Kendyll Compton. It was the first start for Hill, Washington and Lawrence, who scored the game's first two points. Compton drained back-to-back 3-pointers for a quick 10-2 lead. By halftime the lead was 42-22 and by the end of three quarters 67-34. Daniels' final 3-pointer set the running clock going with seven minutes to play in the game. The Middies are not void of talent and are relatively young. Midview starts three juniors and freshman Kellen DeSimone. Six-foot-5 senior Xavier Young averages 17.3 points and 7.8 rebounds, while 5-11 junior Brennen Newton leads the area in assists with 116. Young scored 21 points and pulled in nine rebounds, but Elyria forced the Middies into 20 turnovers while committing only six. "We practice on pressuring the ball," said Daniels. "We know they have that big guy they like to use so we needed to put pressure on the ball to make it hard for them to get to him." Compton scored 11 points and senior Rondell Grimmett added 10. Cam Bell, the other senior, finished with five points and had one of Elyria's half dozen dunks as time wound down. Compton and Lawrence were the other seniors with dunks along with junor Seth Wilkerson, sophomore Ethan Rogers and freshman Micah Jackson. "Lot of guys contributed, lot of guys got out in the open floor," Larrick said. "It was nice to see them having fun. We just have to keep going the right way." Contact Tim Gebhardt at (440) 329-7135 or timothygeb@msn.com. Elyria 81, Midview 40 MIDVIEW (40): Xavier Padilla 1-0-3, Brennen Newton 1-0-2, Luke Jockel 4-0-9, Kellen DiSimone 0-0-0, Xavier Young 9-3-21, Zaire Young 0-1-1, Caleb Kennedy 1-2-4, Cody Sapienza 0-0-0, Assat Gedi 0-0-0, Trey Frierabend 0-0-0, Gavin Rico 0-0-0. Totals 16-6-40. ELYRIA (81): Christian Rogers 1-1-3, Isaiah Hill 0-0-0, Khalil Washington 0-0-0, Kendyll Compton 4-0-11, Mike Lawrence 2-0-4, Cam Bell 2-0-5, Rondell Grimmett 3-2-10, Jermiah Daniels 11-0-29, Tink Shelton 1-0-2, Seth Wilkerson 3-0-7, Micah Jackson 3-0-6, Ethan Rogers 2-0-4, Arris Malone 0-0-0. Totals 32-3-81. Midview&emsp;11&emsp;11&emsp;12&emsp;6&emsp;—&emsp;40 Elyria&emsp;18&emsp;24&emsp;25&emsp;14&emsp;—&emsp;81 Three-point goals: Midview 2-13 (Padilla, Jockel), Elyria 14-31 (Daniels 7, Compton 3, Grimmett 2, Bell, Wilkerson). Field goals: Midview 16-39 (41 percent), Elyria 32-54 (59 percent). Free throws: Midview 6-11 (54.5 percent), Elyria 3-5 (60 percent). Rebounds: Midview 22 (X. Young 9), Elyria 27 (Compton, Jackson 5). Turnovers: Midview 20, Elyria 6. Fouls: Midview 11, Elyria 14. Junior varsity: Elyria, 54-45.