The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Late rally falls short in Panthers’ loss
In a season impacted by a global pandemic, nothing comes easy.
Elyria Catholic coach Rob Palmer and his young squad are experiencing just how hard wins can be to come by in a unique season.
The Panthers dropped a Great Lakes Conference matchup, 68-53, on the road against Rocky River on Jan. 15.
EC fell to 1-5 overall and 1-5 in conference play.
Elyria Catholic got off to a sluggish start offensively and found itself trailing, 16-6, after one quarter.
“Unfortunately, it’s been a repeating occurrence, our first quarters have been slow,” Palmer said. “We can’t hit the bottom of the net, the ball is bouncing around and we had some turnovers. It’s hard to get in sync.”
Despite the slow start, the Panthers hung around and trailed, 29-23, at halftime. In the second quarter, EC big men Jack Kenneally (6foot-7) and Jaret Frantz (6foot-4) got their team going offensively.
The pair combined to score 15 of the Panthers’ 17 secondquarter points.
“When we get momentum, it’s tough to beat us,” said Kenneally, who led all scorers with 20 points and nine rebounds on the night. “Our energy is high, we’re hustling and getting steals. When our momentum is high and when we have high energy, I don’t think anyone on the court can stop us.”
In the third, Panthers guard Colin Kenneally (nine points) scored a quick basket and drained a 3-pointer on EC’s second offensive possession of the second half to spark a 5-0 run. The long range shot pulled the Panthers within one point at 29-28. EC trailed by two heading into the fourth quarter.
Early on in the fourth, the Panthers locked in on defense, forced several steals and cashed in on the offensive end. EC tied the game on two separate occasions in the final quarter before Rocky River used an 8-0 run and clutch free throw shooting down the stretch to put the game away.
“I was really happy with the response (to the slow start) and tying the game,” Palmer said. “There’s a lot of fight in these kids and they are great kids. They work hard and we are just trying to find our way.”
EC is in a transition year as the entire starting five from last year’s team that made it to a district final all graduated.
The young Panthers have dropped several close games this year and are learning how to finish and close games out. Palmer is working with his team and is confident that they are on the cusp of turning things around.
“The big thing is getting a consistent schedule,” Palmer said. “Trying to get into a normal schedule where these guys know who’s next on the schedule and (who to) prepare for. This week alone we prepared for four teams and three of which, we didn’t play.
“It’s not an excuse, it’s just a young team trying to learn all of this on the fly. They are dealing with the challenges that all of the other teams are dealing with as well.”
Up next, Elyria Catholic has a quick turnaround as the Panthers are set to host Twinsburg on Jan. 16.