D-I Regional Boys Basketball: Rondell Grimmett breaks out of slump with big game in loss to St. Ed's

AKRON — Rondell Grimmett picked the perfect time to find his shot, and in turn helped Elyria break out of its slump. The senior led the Pioneers with 16 points and shot 4-of-6 from 3-point range, including huge makes during critical junctures in the second and third quarters, but St. Edward survived his final attempt at the buzzer to hold on for a 53-50 win in the Division I, Region 1 championship at the University of Akron's James A Rhodes Arena on Saturday. St. Edward (22-4) will face Cincinnati Princeton (23-3) in the Division I state semifinal at Wright State University next Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Elyria's season ends at 19-7. The Eagles also defeated the Pioneers 63-58 in a 2025 district final and have won the last nine meetings between the schools. "Coach said to leave everything out there tonight," Grimmett said. "Even if we were going to win or lose, just leave it all out there and that's what we went out there to do. I didn't play last year, so this game was great for me. This experience was perfect for me. It is sad, I feel like we should have won the game tonight, but I had a really good time this year with my friends." Grimmett entered Saturday shooting 4-of-23 for eight points in three postseason games, missing all six of his 3-point attempts. In fact, he had missed his last nine 3-point attempts dating back to the regular-season finale against Avon. But Elyria coach Brett Larrick remained confident in his best shooter. Grimmett shot 37 percent from 3-point range in the regular season and was one of three players on the team to average double figures at 10.6 points per game. "I shot with him (on Friday) for about 20 minutes," Larrick said. "When he walked away, I said there's nothing wrong with your shot. Shoot your open shots. He looked at me, nodded, and I go you're a great shooter, stay confident. "And we needed it. That's what he does for us. He stretches the floor and that lets us get downhill a little bit." Elyria was dreadful from the field in the first quarter, going just 2-of-11 while missing all eight of its 3-point attempt. It was 1-of-3 from the free throw line as the Eagles eventually led 19-9 in the opening minutes of the second quarter. Then Grimmett hit his first three of the postseason and that broke an 0-for-9 start for the team. Tink Shelton followed with another 3-pointer and by the time the minute was over the Pioneers cut St. Edward's lead to 19-17. "It was huge knowing we were right there even though we weren't playing as well as we know we can," said Elyria senior Kendyll Compton, who finished with five points and six rebounds. "It gave us a lot of motivation to keep trying and never give up. When our people started hitting, it just flows the game way faster when we get in transition." The Eagles closed the second with a 9-2 run and led 37-25 with 4:56 left in the third when, once again, Grimmett helped save the day by draining two of his three 3-pointers of the quarter during a 10-0 run to bring Elyria back within two points. This time Elyria didn't let St. Edward get away, eventually tying the Eagles at 50 with 2:05 left. However, the Pioneers never retook the lead as St. Edward scraped together three points in the final 1:31. The Pioneers created a wide-open look in the corner for Grimmett, but it clanked off the front of the rim. "That's a shot I hit in practice," Grimmett said of the final attempt. "It just is what it is. But it's all about us. I just run to my spot, my point guard found me and once he found me it just felt good tonight so I just kept going with the flow." Contact Chris Sweeney at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.