The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Keystone’s big night earns it co-LC8 title
A lot was at stake at the top of the Lorain County League standings when Keystone and Columbia took the floor Feb. 21.
Columbia would clinch an outright inaugural league title with a win, while a Keystone win would secure a share of the title with Columbia and the winner of the Clearview vs. Oberlin matchup.
The Wildcats played spoiler as they defeated the Raiders, 68-65, in the regular-season finale for both teams.
Oberlin took down Clearview Feb. 21, which resulted in a three-way share of the LC8 championship.
Keystone (11-11, 10-4) got off to a blistering start to the game as it used three straight 3-pointers in the opening frame to take a 17-4 lead into the second quarter.
“To Keystone’s credit, they jumped us,” Columbia head coach Larry Babics said. “We knew they would come out with a lot of energy at home on senior night and with what was on the line. They did a good job stifling us early in the game.”
The second quarter turned into a 3-point shooting contest with both teams nailing a combined five shots from beyond the arc.
Keystone’s Sean Saterlee made his second 3-pointer of the game in the second frame to lead the Wildcats to a 32-21 lead at halftime.
Saterlee scored a teamhigh 20 points in the contest, with four 3-pointers in the game.
“This is our home floor and we had a big crowd tonight,” Saterlee said. “We knew they were going to come out in a zone ... we worked on that all week. We came prepared and we knocked down shots.”
Columbia’s (14-7, 10-4) struggles continued into the second half as they were outscored, 17-9, in the third quarter.
Keystone used a 10-0 run in the quarter to push their lead to 19 (49-30) heading into the fourth quarter.
The final quarter was a different story as the Raiders made an immense comeback.
Columbia used 35 fourth-quarter points to pull themselves back into the game. They nailed 12 3-pointers in the game, including eight in the fourth.
The Raiders were led by Brandon Fisher, who scored 16 of his gamehigh 24 points in the final frame. Fisher made six total 3-pointers in the contest.
“In the first half, I hit two 3-pointers and going into the second half, I wanted to be more aggressive and get some more shots up,” Fisher said. “To see them (going in) constantly really helped my confidence.”
The Raiders slowly chipped away at the Wildcats’ lead in the fourth and found themselves down by eight with under five minutes to play. Fisher and Caleb Borling then hit backto-back 3-pointers to pull their team within two at 67-65.
Saterlee was fouled and
sent to the free-throw line, where he hit the first shot and missed the second. Columbia grabbed the rebound and gave itself one more shot, trailing Keystone, 68-65, with 6.3 seconds left. The Raiders weren’t able to knock down a 3-pointer to send the game into overtime as the Wildcats held on for the win.
“They hit a ton of shots,” Keystone head coach Jeff Holzhauer said. “That’s not the way regular basketball goes. They were just coming down, firing them and they made them. They have a bunch of guys who can make shots and I thought we did a good job of defending them even in the fourth quarter. They hit deep and quick 3-pointers.”
Holzhauer’s defense slowed down Columbia’s big man Charlie Simon, who averages 12.3 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. They limited the senior to just seven points and nine rebounds on the night.
“I’m happy with (the way) our defense played throughout the game,” Holzhauer said. “I thought we really frustrated them and did what we had to do to win.”
Keystone freshman Ryan Walsh had a big fourth quarter, as he scored six of his 17 total points in the final frame.
“He’s a good player,” Holzhauer said. “He’s a smart player and he did a lot of things to help win the game for us.”
The Wildcats are happy with the share of the conference title.
“It feels good,” Saterlee said. “It’s a good (confidence booster). We came into this game knowing that we had to beat them to win the share of the conference.”
Next up for both teams is postseason tournament play. Keystone will play Buckeye, while Columbia squares off with Black River Feb. 25.