Pioneers fall in crossconference contest

Despite giving their best efforts the Elyria Pioneers couldn’t keep up with the Euclid Panthers. Dan Gilles has the details from the game on Feb. 15.

When the opposing team connects on its first five shots from the floor, including two from 3-point range, chances are it’s gonna be a long night. Such was the case Friday night at Elyria High School, when visiting Euclid did exactly what was described, en route to a 7152 Greater Cleveland Conference victory over the host Pioneers on Feb. 15. Euclid improved to 13-7 (9-4), while Elyria fells to 8-13 (2-11). Both teams have two regular-season games remaining before the postseason tournament. “We’ve got to do a better job of boxing out,” Elyria coach Brett Larrick said. “Give them credit – they shot the lights out and moved the ball really well. (Garvin) Clarke’s a heck of a guard. He got out in transition, saw the right play and hit the right passes. “Give them credit. T.J. (Kwasniak’s) done a really good job with them. They play hard, they move the ball. And even when they missed some shots, they were able to get the offensive board and stick it back. They shot well from outside and rebounded it from inside. It was a tough matchup for us.” Not much went right for the Pioneers, who honored their six seniors prior to the game. They never led, only cut the deficit to single digits once after Euclid went up by 10 (which was in the first quarter), and were outrebounded, 34-21. Senior William Waddell led the way with 15 points in his final regular-season home game, while fellow senior Caleb Rogers added 12 and a team-best five rebounds. Those were the only two double-digit scorers for the Pioneers. Meanwhile, Euclid had three players reach double figures and just missed out on a fourth with Reginald Priah finishing with 9. The Panthers took a 25-point lead into the fourth quarter before taking their foot off the gas in the fourth. The 5-for-5 start led Euclid to a 12-2 lead and wound up a 14-2 run when Octavious Hardy put back his team’s first miss of the game. Elyria cut the deficit to six thanks to two 3-pointers from Waddell and Jahkai Owens, respectively, but Euclid’s Reginald Watts answered with a 3-pointer of his own to make it a 19-10 lead after one. That trey from Watts kickstarted a 12-0 run that put Euclid firmly in control, 28-10. That bled into a 16-4 run in which senior Mario Lacy scored the final seven points of. Lacy led all players with 17 points and 11 rebounds. “We played well, but what we haven’t done all year is put teams away like that,” Euclid coach T.J. Kwasniak said. “For whatever reason, when we know we have more talent, we haven’t come out to play like that this year. That was the first time we did that. “When we’re making shots, we’re hard to beat. We hit some big 3s early on. Those guys are doing what they’re supposed to do, which is make us shot. They had to pick their poison, and it was just our night tonight.” Junior Garvin Clarke, who finished with 14 points on a 6-of-9 shooting night, hit a 3-pointer late in the third quarter that gave the Panthers their largest lead of the night, 56-30, and Ezel Oliver’s buzzerbeating trey made it 59-34 heading into the fourth. Elyria did outscore Euclid 18-12 in the fourth quarter to keep things respectable. Waddell scored six of his points in the fourth. Larrick decided to dress his two senior managers, Steven Hastings and Zack Schuster, for the final home game. And, in the final minute, the two got their long-awaited first playing time of their high school careers. Schuster had a 3-pointer go in-and-out, while Hastings converted a layup for the game’s final points, sending the student section into thunderous cheers. “Six seniors – that’s a really good group,” Larrick said. “They’ve done well for us all year. They’ve all battled all year and they’ve been good leaders. “Steven and Zack earned that tonight. They’ve been a part of us for four years. Zack missed his three and I thought it was good. And it was nice to see Steven get in the scorebook. Zack picked up a foul, so he technically got in the scorebook too. I was happy for them.” Hardy added 11 points for Euclid in the winning effort.