High school basketball: Avon, Keystone, Vermilion play well at Cedar Point tournament

SANDUSKY — A total of 40 varsity basketball teams from Ohio played in the sixth annual Battle 4 the Bay at the Cedar Point Sports Center on Tuesday. Avon, Keystone and Vermilion represented Lorain County and represented the schools well. The Wildcats finished 3-0 in pool play and the Eagles and Sailors finished 2-1 prior to the final 14-minute bracket rounds. The pool play was two 20-minute halves with a running clock. There are nine courts at the Sports Center. Avon coach Mike Fitch didn't have a couple veterans available to him but utilized some incoming junior varsity players who contributed. The Eagles advanced to the semifinal round of the final bracket before being eliminated by Perrysburg, the only team to beat the Eagles in pool play. Perrysburg went on to win the championship by beating Strongsville in the final. "We started in May," said Fitch. "We went down to Cincinnati Princeton, played three really good teams down there and then went to John Carroll last Saturday." Juniors Trevor Sykora and Sam Griffiths, along with senior Kyle Partridge, were not at Tuesday's tournament. Avon returns seniors Dean Abdul, Brooks Good and Preston Johnston. Sykora is slated to be Avon's quarterback before he assumes the point-guard role. "We bring a lot back but we have three or four guys that need to gain a lot of experience," said Fitch. "They're going to have to help us." "I think it's important to come out here and play," said three-year senior starter Joey Ziegler. "Some guys are new and you hadn't really played with yet. They're going to play a big part in our team this year. We're doing a really good job with people stepping up and coming out with energy and effort. That's the most important thing." Ziegler knows his responsibility is to be captain leader. He was Avon's leading scorer the past two seasons. The Eagles should be one of the favorites to win the Southwest Conference championship. "My role right now is to pick these guys up," he said. "There's a lot of constructive criticism. I can say stuff to them, they can say stuff to me. We're all best friends. No one takes it to heart. We just get better." Vermilion won its first two games before being eliminated by Avon in the quarterfinal round. Veteran coach Kurt Habermehl liked how his team played. The Sailors will have good size and experience coming back this year. "We've got five three-year guys coming back," he said. "We've got a huge 6-foot-8, 280-pound center, Luke Richardson, who is not here. We've got size. We've got experience. We've got some young sophomores (Dawson Coates and Bryce Grayshaw) who are playing really well. I think we have the makings of a pretty good basketball team." Among the returning lettermen is Habermehl's son Luke, who has grown a couple inches, and Mason Cooper. "We've all been playing together for awhile," said Luke, who obviously grew up in the program. "We're trying different things, getting ready for the season. I've had an idea of how we want to play. It's good to know and have it already in your mind." "There's a lot of good teams here," said Cooper. "Some of these teams we might see during the season but most of them are teams we won't ever see. It's good to play new competition. It's always good to come out here with good competition." Keystone, led by senior Liam Goran and junior Colt Cowling, should be a big favorite in the Lorain County League again. Goran played both games Monday and the first one Tuesday but missed the bracket round. The Wildcats were eliminated by a late flurry by Oregon Clay, 21-18. "We were in control and just lost it at the end," said Keystone coach Jeff Holzhauer. "These guys have been there, done that. For years, people have been saying 'Jeff, you're young, you're young.' Well, now we're juniors and seniors. I wish we had a little bit more size but we are who we are and I like our guys and I like the things we can do." "It's good (to be here), especially since you play teams that you don't really see," said Goran. "You don't know their gameplan or how they play. You always have to adjust, depending on what they do." "Liam is our main ballhandler and he gets it done for us," said Cowling. "The season is a long way away but it feels good right now." On Monday, Keystone beat Anthony Wayne, 70-58, and Norwayne, 63-45, while Avon handled Oregon Clay, 73-43, and Perkins, 92-46. Vermilion defeated Vanlue, 67-22, before losing to Massillon Tuslaw, 67-45. Tuesday's pool action saw Keystone win over Liberty Center, 51-44, and Vermilion pound Lakota, 50-30, while Avon dropped a tough, 55-47, verdict to Perrysburg. Contact Tim Gebhardt at (440) 329-7135 or at timothygeb@msn.com.