PIONEERS CLUTCH PLAYS HELP DEFEAT WILDCATS

Host Keystone knew the threepoint shooting threat visiting Elyria presented on Jan. 15.

But the Pioneers had no trouble in the first half draining seven of them in route to a 53-44 victory.

Caleb Rogers led Elyria with 18 points and five 3-pointers, while William Waddell closed the deal scoring seven of his 10 points in the fourth.

“In the first half, I was just being a team player giving my team the ball,” Waddell said. “In the second half, my energy kept growing and I was trying to finish everything the rest of the game.”

The Pioneers (7-7) entered the fourth with a 41-33 edge, but the Wildcats (7-7) made a run.

Kevin Mealwitz scored Keystone’s first eight points of the quarter, including back-to-back 3-pointers, to tie at 41-41. Minutes later, Matt Mealwitz drained a 3-pointer to give Keystone its first lead of the game, 44-43, with 2:20 remaining. Elyria’s Aiden Carter responded with a 3-pointer, and Waddell hammered it home with two consecutive and-1 buckets, followed by a layup with 20 seconds to retake a 53-44 lead.

After a 3-point barrage in the first half against Keystone’s zone defense, the Pioneers made just one in the second half, but Carter’s was the biggest.

“In the first half, we did a pretty good job against their zone,” Elyria coach Brett Larrick said. “Caleb got hot, but in the second half, their zone was really

active. We never got the ball to short corner and middle enough, only a couple times. But give them credit, we knew they would play hard.”

Guard Ethan Sokolowski led Keystone with 11 points. In the first half, they fell behind, 14-4, and trailed 3017 at the half. They finished with five 3-pointers.

“Our zone defense looked exactly the same in the second half as it did in the first, but we extended on Caleb just a little bit,” Keystone coach Jeff Holzhauer said. “Sometimes kids underestimate the ability of the kids they play against. We covered their 3-point shooters much, much better in the second half.”

Keystone suffered its fifth loss within four points of the season, an alarming trend for Holzhauer whom usually has teams that finish those tight games.

“We’ve had a lot of games just like this,” he added. “I’m not used to losing close games. We’ve been fortunate over the years to

have a little luck on our side and right now, we’re just in a rut. I think our focus is great but we keep coming up short.”

The Pioneers have won two in a row and host Mentor on Friday.

“Will took over and I was very proud of that,” Rogers said.

RANDY MEYERS - FOR THE MORNING JOURNAL Elyria’s Aiden Carter drives through the Keystone defense and passes to Jahkai Owen on Jan. 15

RANDY MEYERS - FOR THE MORNING JOURNAL Keystone’s Ethan Sokolowski puts up a shot on Jan. 15.