The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
AVON LAKE GETS OFFENSE IN GEAR
After struggling in first half, Shoremen’s run assures win No. 3
After spinning its wheels on offense in the first half, Avon Lake came out of the intermission in a groove and outscored Westlake, 17-4, in the third to close out win No. 3 in the Southwestern Conference, 53-36, on Dec. 15.
In a first half that looked about as ugly as the weather outside for both teams, Avon Lake (3-1, 3-0) and Westlake limped into half with more rebounds than points as the Shoremen offense claimed a tight 21-19 edge.
Looking to get out of the offensive funk, Avon Lake coach Eric Smith said his boys were moving the ball well, just not finishing chances.
“In the first half, I thought we moved the ball well side to side and ball reversals. I don’t think we did a good enough job moving bodies in the first half. I thought we were sloppy and slow on cuts,” Smith said. “Second half, I thought
we were a lot crisper and by doing that we were harder to guard and we got some good looks at the rim. Plus they had to do a lot of help and recover deals. We got some looks as some jump shots, so I thought we were more efficient and the difference was we got better shots in the second half than we did in the first half. That was the key.”
Embarking on a 17-4 run that lasted the entire quarter, the Shoremen outhustled the Demons on the glass and on loose balls.
“This is a group that plays hard. What you see here is what we get every day at practice,” Smith said.
“As we told them in the locker room, sophomores don’t do this. We ran one senior and four sophomores out there to start and then these guys, they’re starting to get it a little bit. I can’t say enough about Jordan Ball. He’s a senior out there and he’s the point guard, running the show and he’s so unselfish in that he doesn’t try to take the game over. He shares the basketball. He gets us going and he gets his points, which is just what he does.”
Ball had a team high 16-points while sophomores Nick Marsh, who finished with 14 points, and Tanner Russell, 10 points, aided in the effort to help push Avon Lake off to one of its best starts in the last few years.
“That’s a great way to start. That’s what we wanted to do and the goal is just one game at a time,” Smith said.
“We’re going to be back at it tomorrow. We have Lakewood on Tuesday and we’ve got to go back to work and see what happens.”
As Avon Lake looked comfortable in its skin, the Demons, on the other hand, did not.
Still looking to see what his team is made of, Westlake coach Shawn Hood said his players have some soul searching to do.
“We have a small margin for error and we’re just not clicking on a lot of different cylinders,” Hood said. “It’s a group that has to be convinced of the things that they need to do. They are a bunch of smart kids that have had success in their lives in other areas and they’re struggling to understand that this is a different arena and it takes intensity and mental toughness — those intangible qualities that help you win in this league at this level — and they’re struggling to acquiesce.”