Boys basketball: Six players score in double figures as Elyria rolls to 82-71 win over Westlake

WESTLAKE — Spread the wealth. That's kind of been the unwritten rule for Brett Larrick's Elyria Pioneers this year. Tuesday was a prime example as six players scored in double figures and Elyria downed Westlake 82-71 in non-conference play. "It's all defense," Larrick said. "Even that spurt in the fourth quarter. It was us flying around, rotating. That's what we need. Play hard, fly around. We need to pressure. Take some pride defensively and offensively. "Six guys in double figures is unbelievable. Offense will take care of itself if you can fly around." Rondell Grimmett and Seth Wilkerson each scored 14, Kendyll Compton added 11 while Cam Bell, Jermiah Daniels and Tink Shelton all finished with 10. Bell and Wilkerson had a couple of key moments that kept the momentum from getting away. Bell made three strong drives to the basket early in the third quarter and finished each with a basket. He also had a key putback in the second quarter. "The first half we came out pretty passive," Bell said. "Second half, I just tried to give us a burst and get us going. Get downhill and be aggressive." Elyria (15-5) made seven of its eight 3-pointers in the first quarter but weren't getting any points in transition. The Pioneers picked up the traps and the defense in the second half. "Obviously there was good and bad," Larrick said. "Six threes the first quarter is pretty good shooting but then you get a little bit passive. We were just settling for threes instead of being in attack mode. I thought the second half our pressure (was there). We wanted to make them go full court the whole game. We felt we could play more guys than (Westlake). Give them credit, they played well." Wilkerson broke a 44-all tie in the third quarter with a strong move inside and helped build the final margin with three strong layups inside in the fourth quarter. "I always want to be where the ball is," Wilkerson said of his plays under the basket. "I might not get all the touches on the outside but that's my way of getting the ball. Everybody can score, but it starts with defense." Defense played a huge role as the Pioneers forced Westlake (12-7) into 21 turnovers and were able to score off a number of those. With the score 66-61 in Elyria's favor and just under five minutes left to play, Shelton converted a pair of free throws and Compton had back-to-back baskets off turnovers, the last one a huge dunk. Ethan Rogers followed that up with a steal and another dunk to put the Pioneers up 74-61 with 2:10 remaining. Westlake shot the ball extremely well, hitting 55 percent from the field including nine of 14 3-pointers. Ryan Turk led the way with 20 points, reaching 1,000 for his career with his first of two 3-point baskets in the first quarter. Gage Carlson (19), AJ DeFazio (11) and Hayden Purdy (11) joined Turk in double figures. Purdy pulled in 10 rebounds to lead the Demons to a slight advantage off the boards. Elyria, the two-time defending champion, is in position to at least share the Southwestern Conference this year. Right now it's a three-way tie with Olmsted Falls and Berea-Midpark with two games left. Elyria and Berea-Midpark square off Friday while Olmsted Falls plays Midview. Contact Tim Gebhardt at (440) 329-7135 or timothygeb@msn.com. Elyria 82, Westlake 72 ELYRIA (82): Cam Bell 5-0-10, Rondell Grimmett 5-2-14, Jeremiah Daniels 4-0-10, Seth Wilkerson 6-2-14, Kendyll Compton 4-2-11, Tink Shelton 3-4-10, Ethan Rogers 2-0-4, Micah Jackson 2-0-6, Christian Rogers 1-0-3. Totals 32-10-82. WESTLAKE (72): Ryan Turk 9-0-20, Gage Carlson 8-0-19, AJ DeFazio 4-0-11, Andrew Nash 0-0-0, Hayden Purdy 4-1-9, Cody Gentry 1-0-2, Joe Stanton 5-0-11, Mateo Medina 0-0-0, Gavin McMillen 0-0-0. Totals 31-1-72. Elyria&emsp;23&emsp;17&emsp;18&emsp;24&emsp;—&emsp;82 Westlake&emsp;18&emsp;18&emsp;15&emsp;21&emsp;—&emsp;72 Three-point goals: Elyria 8-21 (Grimmett 2, Daniels 2, Jackson 2, Compton, C.Rogers), Westlake 9-14 (Carlson 3, DeFazio 3, Turk 2, Stanton). Field goals: Elyria 32-64 (50 percent), Westlake 31-56 (55 percent). Free throws: Elyria 10-13 (77 percent), Westlake 1-2 (50 percent). Rebounds: Elyria 27 (Bell, Compton 5), Westlake 35 (Purdy 10). Turnovers: Elyria 11, Westlake 22. Total fouls: Elyria 8, Westlake 10. Junior varsity: Elyria, 72-49.