The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Olmsted Falls claims SWC heavyweight battle
It was apparent from the start that something just wasn’t quite right with the undefeated Avon Eagles as they opened up play against rival Olmsted Falls on a chilly December night.
The Bulldogs took full advantage, throttling Avon, 63-43, to notch a potentially crucial Southwestern Conference victory on Dec. 21.
After a shaky, but competitive first quarter in which the Bulldogs (4-1, 3-1 SWC) took a 12-9 lead, Olmsted Falls began their rout in the second as it silenced the Eagles (5-1, 3-1 SWC) offense by crashing the passing lanes repeatedly for easy layups. That aggressive defense, paired with consistent shooting, turned into a 17-4 run throughout the entire second quarter as the Bulldogs took a 29-13 lead into halftime.
“I thought we did a good job, and I thought the tempo was going our way,” Olmsted Falls coach Chris DeLisio said. “We just kept with it, kept with it, and eventually in the second quarter we got some turnovers and some buckets, and obviously when you knock down a few 3s, you know, things can get rolling.”
The Bulldogs tallied five 3s in the first half, with two of them coming from senior Eric Hanna. He found himself in virtually every possession throughout the night, tallying a game-high 20 points to go with one rebound and a steal.
Hanna, among other Bulldogs, was thriving with confidence from the opening tip.
“We figured out their offense, so we just switched and picked off a lot of passes, obviously with some fast-break points added to it,” Hanna said. “That was definitely good for us. We pressed really hard, and turned them over offensively, so we got a lot of open looks.”
Avon finished with 20 turnovers.
Like all leaders do, Avon’s Ryan Maloy gave it his all to try and lead the Eagles to a comeback. Maloy notched four quick points to start the third quarter. He went on to score all nine of his points in the third. Maloy did not start as he came off the bench due to illness.
Senior Jake Parker led the Eagles with 13 points and three rebounds.
With Maloy working his magic, the Bulldogs continued to pressure the Eagles, causing a pair of turnovers to stymie any kind of serious momentum change.
DeLisio encouraged the constant pressure from his team.
“It’s what we do,” DeLisio said. “It’s just kind of the way we play. We hope to wear on teams as the game goes on, and just make it a track meet. I thought we did that tonight.”
Weathering Maloy’s storm, Olmsted Falls outscored Avon, 17-16, in the third.
Despite Maloy’s heroics, Avon coach Kevin Sapara was understandably dismayed by his team’s lack of effort.
“They’re a good team, but our guys are not playing the way they are capable of playing,” Sapara said. “It’s early, and we needed that. That’s a good team, and we needed a butt-whooping to kind of wake us up a little bit.”
Sapara continued to praise a team he knows he might just see twice down the road.
“Shout out to them. They did a great job and they executed, and they took us out of what we needed to do. We couldn’t get anything going,” Sapara said.
After another Olmsted Falls run, this time 13-3 in the fourth quarter, Sapara had seen enough. He emptied his bench imploring to see some fight as the scoreboard continued to spiral out of control at 59-32 in front of a shell-shocked crowd.
The move worked as Avon looked invigorated and they went on to end the game on an 11-4 run.
But it was too little, too late.
“We need some other guys to start playing the way they know they are capable of playing,” Sapara said.
Meanwhile, Hanna knows how big this win could be down the line.
“We always have great games with Avon every year, especially here,” Hanna said. “It’s a hard place to play and everything. It’s great to beat them, and obviously they will come to our place and it’ll be easier hopefully.”