Olmsted Falls is big winner

Days after securing the 2018-19 Southwestern Conference title outright, Olmsted Falls capped off its regular season to remember with a convincing 8048 victory over last-place North Olmsted on senior night on Feb. 22. The Bulldogs (20-2, 15-2 SWC), who are seeded No. 2 in the upcoming Elyria District tournament, have blazed a path of 11-straight victories since losing on a buzzer beater at home to Midview on Jan. 11. Bulldogs head coach Chris DeLisio credits the Midview loss and a few other close games as the wake-up call that Olmsted Falls needed as they roll full steam ahead toward the postseason. “It’s not only the Midview loss, but we had a stretch of games where we just kind of got away from who we are,” DeLisio said. “You want to have an identity as a team, and sometimes that can get lost because the season is such a grind. We did a lot of talking about just getting back to who we want to be as a team, and what we believe in.” The Bulldogs came out firing on all cylinders as they buried North Olmsted with a scintillating 27-2 run to start the game. Along with the hot offense, the defense and some missed shots caused fits for the Eagles. It was a picture perfect script as the home stands erupted in cheers with each and every basket as the rout was on. “I just think it says a lot about our guys and their focus,” DeLisio said. “Some people might look at all the distractions, but I think there was a lot that our guys were really appreciative of tonight. We were celebrating with the conference championship banners, senior night, and the last game on the home floor this regular season.” Olmsted Falls widened its lead in the second, taking a 48-12 advantage into halftime. The Bulldogs notched nine 3’s in the first half, and shot 55 percent from the field. Five Bulldogs scored in double figures, including a team high 13-points and four rebounds from senior Ryan Higginbotham. “We just share the ball a lot,” Higginbotham said. “No one on this team is selfish. We all love each other. We all want everyone each night to score as much as possible. That’s why we are really good.” True to his words, The Bulldogs shared the ball beautifully, tallying 11 assists. Michael Fritz finished with 11 points, including three 3’s, and Chuck Backus and Kevin Eisman each had 10 points. Bulldogs senior Braden Galaska echoed the team mentality as he was all smiles from the opening tip all the way to cutting down the nets in the postgame ceremony. “It’s really exciting. We are all happy about it, and it has been a great year,” Galaska said. “The thing I am most proud of is that we love to share the ball and help each other. We love to get after it each and every day.” Galaska finished with 11 points. North Olmsted had its fair share of open shot opportunities, but came up short more than not, leaving to a plethora of fast breaks and scoring chances for the Bulldogs. “For them to come out on fire on senior night, they had everything working,” North Olmsted head coach Jason Frolo said. “We missed a couple easy ones, and then it just snowballed. All of sudden they are knocking everything down, and we just buried ourselves in a big hole.” The Eagles (2-20, 0-18 SWC) got going on offense in the third quarter, scoring 15 points and they trailed 72-27 heading into the fourth. North Olmsted took advantage of DeLisio’s decision to call off the dogs in the last eight minutes, establishing some much needed offensive rhythm. North Olmsted starters outscored Olmsted Falls’ bench, 21-12 in the fourth. Austin Murphy led the Eagles with 17 points, while Darren Anders added 12 and Sam Bring 10.