The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Elyria boys bow out of district in semifinals
Mims’ 3-pointer seals it for Lakewood, which will face Lorain for regional berth
Elyria’s improbable playoff run has come to an end, but these Pioneers have no reason to hang their heads.
No. 11 Elyria displayed its heart and hustle once again as it battled down to the last minute with No. 7 Lakewood. That’s when Nate Mims sank a 3-pointer to give the Rangers the lead, and the eventual victory, clipping the Pioneers, 49-44, in a Division I Elyria District semifinal at the Elyria Catholic Coliseum on March 5.
Lakewood will face topseeded Lorain in a Division I district final at the Elyria Catholic Coliseum on March 7.
Mims’ shot came in a frenzied final minutes of action, in which Elyria’s MarSuan Robinson deliver bucket to tie the game at 42 with 1:18 left.
After Mims’ long distance shot give the Rangers the three-point lead, a miscommunication on offense for the Pioneers proved costly as Mims found a dashing Peter Patsouras on an inbound for a layup underneath the hoop with 31 seconds left.
Elyria’s Dezaron Shelton cut it to 47-44 on a bucket of his own, but it was not enough.
After tournament wins over Westlake and Amherst, the Pioneers (6-19) had finally been eliminated.
“I just told them that I’m really proud of them, unbelievably proud of that second-half bounce back … how hard they worked for two weeks, and the attention to detail,” Elyria coach Brett Larrick said. “I just told them that I’m really proud of their tournament run. They could have quit a few weeks ago, and they didn’t.”
Mims’ shot sent Lakewood (15-8) to its first district final since 2002.
“In those kind of moments, I just want to be able to shoot with confidence,” Mims, a senior, said. “It was a good look, so I just shot it.”
Mims finished with 20 points, 14 rebounds, five blocks, four steals and four assists.
Lakewood coach Alex Cammock called it a “hell of a game.
“He works relentlessly on his game,” Cammock said. “He just started playing basketball as a sophomore in high school. He is fantastic, and I’m glad it came to fruition for him tonight. If you watched the game, he stood out head-and-shoulders above everyone else.”
Mims guarded Robinson most of the night. The Elyria junior guard led the way with 13 points for the Pioneers as he tried to shake off the 6-foot-6 Mims’ presence, and watched him hoist up the game-changing 3.
“Yeah, there were a lot of plays down the stretch that led to them winning, but that was a big shot. I wasn’t really expecting that,” Robinson said.
Riding high off its victory over No. 3 Amherst, Elyria came out with a smothering defense, jumping up to a 5-0 lead in a rugged and choppy first few minutes of play. The Pioneers then weathered the storm as Lakewood strung together a 13-0 run fueled by the athleticism of Mims and a relentless effort on the glass.
“I feel like my effort, just going out there and be aggressive on both ends sets the tone for us and helps us,” Mims said. “I just wanted to go out there and put us in the best position.”
Mims kept up the stellar play as Lakewood took a 2315 lead into halftime.
“After the first half, we came in the locker room and we all got together,” Robinson said. “We thought about if we lose that we have to go home, and this would be our last game with the seniors. So we tried to come back out, shake the first half off, and fight as hard as we could.”
With a sizeable crowd on their side, the Pioneers showed their pride in the third quarter as they orchestrated a smothering defensive effort, forcing Lakewood into a woeful six-point quarter. Robinson tallied six, while Shelton added four points in the 13-point momentum swing. Jesse Stevens capped the quarter with a basket to put Elyria up, 34-29.
“Give coach Larrick a ton of credit, he put those guys in ball screens, and he was the first guy to do that all year,” Cammock said. “They were methodical and pounded into the post. They didn’t sell out with 3’s, they started pounding it in the post. That’s how you come back in a game.”
Shelton finished with nine points. Omar Palos and Jesse Stevens III tallied six and four points, respectively for the Pioneers.
Lakewood sophomore Riley Ulintz opened up the fourth quarter with a 3 after an Elyria steal attempt went awry. The long distance shots came fast and furious as Antonio Crockett added a 3, followed by an exchange of shots from Ulintz and Daylan Sharlow.
Ulintz notched 11 points for the Rangers.
Mims put Lakewood up, 40-39, with a drive to the basket midway through the fourth quarter. Robinson tied it with a free throw, only to have Mims answer back with another bucket.
“He was a challenge for us,” Larrick said. “He was a bigger guard than what we have, and we wanted to keep him outside, and I thought we did that for the most part. We wanted to stay in front. He hit a big shot. That’s what good players are supposed to do. He made one more play then what we did.”