D-I Regional Boys Basketball: Defense making a difference for Elyria

Come regional time, there's no question just how important defense becomes. It was almost possession-by-possession Saturday when Elyria (18-6) advanced to tonight's Division I regional semifinal against Brunswick (21-3) by holding off tall, powerful and tournament-tested Canton McKinley 50-46 at Barberton High School. "It was a grind-it-out game," Elyria coach Brett Larrick said. "That's what you get at tournament time. Teams do so much prep and every possession's valued a little bit more. Saturday, I thought we were locked into what we wanted to do. Everybody had to be on the same page." What Canton McKinley (19-5) wanted to do was take the ball inside where its height advantage could be a factor. The Bulldogs started 6-foot-8 Jamar Keyes, 6-5 Ed Webster and 6-4 Anthony Chavers and brought a couple more good-sized kids off the bench. But with Elyria four-year letterman Cam Bell (6-3) helping clog the middle, they weren't able to dominate the paint. In fact, they settled for 3-point attempts, making just one of 11. "Those are games in the past Elyria hasn't won since I've been here," assistant coach Dan Gundert said. "It was just a gritty dogfight and our kids just made plays. The best part for me as a coach watching that was seeing how many times we huddled up together and we picked each other up when things weren't going right. As a coach, that's all you can ask for." Elyria trailed the Bulldogs 43-41 with under two minutes to play when Tink Shelton, the smallest player on the floor, hit an open 3-pointer to give the Pioneers the lead. Shelton had been 0-for-6 from the field with a number of those shots batted away by the Bulldogs. It never entered Shelton's mind that maybe he shouldn't shoot it. "The play wasn't really for me, but I ended up with the ball," he said. "I had to connect with it." "That possession, we came off a set, we got a paint touch and a kick-out and he was there with his feet set," said Larrick. "So you're in rhythm, inside-out, it's a much higher-percentage shot." The pesky 5-5 guard played a huge role in Elyria's defensive effort. After his 3-pointer, McKinley committed a traveling violation, had a goaltending violation on Micah Jackson's short-range shot and another turnover. Jackson's basket gave Elyria a 46-43 lead with 53 seconds to play. "Tink sets the tone for our defense," Larrick said. "He can hound guards and pressure. He kind of gets everybody else going, too." "I was just following the game plan," said Shelton, who credits uncle Cecil Shelton for his defensive play. "However I can rattle somebody and however I can get under somebody's skin, that's what I'm going to do, especially because I'm a small, undersized guard." Shelton got his 33rd steal of the season, but after an over-and-back call on Elyria, McKinley used a timeout with 20.9 left. Due to the Pioneers defense, McKinley was guilty of an over-and-back call itself with 17 seconds left. Larrick called a timeout and McKinley, with fouls to give, was forced to foul several times, finally sending Kendyll Compton to the line for two shots with 12.4 seconds left. He made them both for a 48-43 lead. Compton, at 6-5, is versatile, including handling the ball. He drew the Bulldogs outside to guard him and finished with a game-high 21 points, including hitting all seven of his free throws. "With Kendyll being so interchangeable, it helps when you can do that and just taking advantage of guys getting in foul trouble by trying to attack different spots," Larrick said. "Kendyll has been really locked in these tournament games. The first game he had a double-double (rebounds and points). He's such an asset. He can guard one through five and he can start our break when he rebounds it." Compton is as good as anyone who's ever played for Elyria but has had moments where he loses focus. He's determined not to have that happen. "Being my senior year, I don't want it to end no bad way with it being on me," said Compton, who has scored 47 points in two tournament games. "I just want to play hard like I have been for the past few games." Larrick and Bell credit Gundert with creating the defensive schemes. Prior to joining Larrick's staff, he had success as head coach at Wellington, where he played in high school. He went on to Baldwin Wallace, playing under Steve Bankson, a Hall of Fame coach. "He's been here since my freshman year," Bell said. "He's kind of been with me the whole ride. He's really good when it comes to defense and scouting. He watches a lot of film for us. "It's not just me. Tink pressures the ball really well. Jerry (Jermiah Daniels) pressures the ball really well. Obviously, Kendyll with his size and athleticism. I just try to talk a lot on defense, get guys where they've got to be." Larrick said Gundert puts in "so many hours" getting prepared. "He does such a good job of breaking down clips of every team's action and how we want to defend it," Larrick said. "During our tournament games, our guys have really bought into it and paid attention to it." "It's whoever listens and Cam loves to listen to that," said Gundert with a smile. "I told him the other day he's like a coach on the floor for us." Brunswick brings a whole different set of skills to the floor. The Blue Devils are not as big as McKinley but they shoot the 3-pointer and spread the floor as well as anyone. Even without leading scorer Trey Drexler, who's out with a fractured wrist, the Blue Devils are a solid team coached by one of the best around in Joe Mackey, a 30-year veteran with nearly 500 wins. "We've got to focus on everything we've got to do," said Daniels, who has 32 steals. "Talking as a team, communicating. We're definitely very comfortable with each other." "They are a good team," Larrick said of Brunswick. "With (Drexler) they're good, without him they're still really good. They've got (Sean) Barnett — scholarship player — who's scored 60-some points in their two tournament games. They have other weapons, guys who know how to play and have grown into their roles. It is no easy task." Contact Tim Gebhardt at (440) 329-7135 or timothygeb@msn.com.