The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Falcons win in big way
Firelands found transition makes early and often in the second quarter where they outscored Oberlin, 23-9, to take a 13-point lead into the half.
Mitchell Hodges is hard to miss on the basketball court. The Firelands senior stands six-foot-seven-inches tall and sports a curly mullet.
Jan. 15 Oberlin ball handlers were well aware of where Hodges was on the court. The curly haired senior scared away many a Phoenix drive and set back four shots in a 65-47 Lorain County League win.
“I feel like when they drove in we were able to stop them from getting a lot of layups,” Hodges said. “We were a little rough on the rebounds so we’ve gone some stuff to work on.”
Firelands and Oberlin will meet again Jan. 16 at Firelands after their two previous games were postponed after the Phoenix were forced to quarantine for 14 days.
Hodges not only dominated on defense, also serving as a key part of Firelands offense. The Falcons played an up-tempo game hoping to capitalize on the Phoenix’s lack of action over the past two weeks.
Firelands found transition makes early and often in the second quarter where they outscored Oberlin 23-9 to take a 13 point lead into the half.
“We were getting defensive stops and we were getting out and running the floor which is really what these kids do well,” Firelands head coach Alan Januzzi said of his team’s second quarter effort. “They share the basketball and get everyone involved. You’ve got Mitchell inside who can score, Jackson (Talbott) can hit outside shots. Casey (Kelley) when he starts shooting well we become pretty difficult to defend.”
Hodges finished with a team high 14 points leading a trio of Falcons to reach double digits. Kelley finished with 13 while Caden Bomback added 10.
Oberlin guard Andre Yarber was missing for much of the second and third quarters picking up three fouls late in the first half. Yarber gathered his fourth foul in the opening minutes of the third, piling on to Oberlin’s problems.
Trajan Chambers and Ty
Locklear led a comeback effort in the late third and early fourth quarter. But Fireland’s almost 20-point lead after three quarters was too much to overcome.
“Ty is really skillful and when Ty plays hard he’s really hard to stop and he tried to pick us up in the second half,” Oberlin head coach Kurt Russell said. “We just need for everyone to play hard the entire game. We’re not going to make any excuses.”
Locklear scored a game high 15 points while Chambers was the only other Oberlin player in double digits with ten.
The win helps Firelands keep pace with Columbia and Keystone atop the LC8, both teams were idle on Jan. 15. So the Falcons
now sit in a three way tie for first place in the conference.
“It’s huge. Every game counts,” Bomback said. “We
know for the tournament it’s crucial to keep winning games to get a higher seed. And also get a conference championship.”