The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Titans dominate in district semifinal
To say Lorain was disappointed in its performance against Avon two weeks ago would be an understatement, and the Titans came out in the Division I Elyria District semifinal on March 6 with something to prove to their opponent, but mostly to themselves. No. 1 Lorain (23-1) went on a 13-0 run to open the game and dominated on both ends of the floor to beat fourth-seeded Avon, 96-50, and advance to its fifth-straight district championship game where it will face the winner of No. 3 Lakewood-No. 2 Olmsted Falls on March 9. “These guys know it’s tournament time,” Lorain coach John Rositano said. “They were not happy with the way they played last time over at Avon. They took it as a personal affront and I think they had something to prove tonight. They were locked in on the game plan and they executed perfectly.”
The Titans executed every aspect of the game to near-perfection, especially its stifling defense. Avon (17-8) struggled to keep pace and was never able to break the pressure Lorain kept up all night, and once the Eagles dug themselves into a hole, there was little it could do to mount a comeback against the fourth-ranked team in D-I. “We weren’t really gambling, it was just solid pressure and (Avon was) just fumbling,” senior Taevon Pierre-Louis said. “The first time we played (Avon) I felt they did pretty good. They got us out of our hookup, got us on our toes, and I felt this time we had put pressure on them and they were having turnovers. We were just forcing turnovers by getting after it and it was the pressure that got under them.” The Titans got plenty of contributions offensively, too, as 10 players scored including four in double-figures. Devon Grant continued to put on a show as the final weeks of his senior season wind down. The D-I Northeast Lakes District Player of the Year scored a game-high 32 points, including seven 3-pointers, and never stopped challenging Avon no matter where he took his shots. “It was just the fact that we had to basically show (Avon) that they didn’t belong inside the lines that we play in,” Grant said. “We always try to have that mindset to where other teams just don’t belong in the lines that we play in but we don’t try to use it as a cockiness or just be so bold about it, we just try to play really hard to show them in the basketball way.” Jordan Jackson added 16 points, Deonte Benejan had 15 and Pierre-Louis 11 for Lorain. Jake Parker was the only player to reach double-figures for Avon. The 6-foot-4 senior scored 20 points. “We did a lot of good things the last time (we played Lorain) and we tried to carry that over, they just jumped us,” Avon coach Kevin Sapara said. “You look at how they started the game… to fall behind 13-0 to a really good team like Lorain, it was an uphill battle for us. Our guys didn’t quit but Lorain didn’t quit either. Those guys are good.”