Elyria start fast, close strong in win over Bay

Getting out to a fast start was at the top of Elyria’s game plan against visiting Bay on Dec. 14.

Lucky for the Pioneers, junior guard Ryan Walsh couldn’t miss in the opening quarter. Walsh was a perfect six-of-six from the field in the first period, scoring 15 points.

Elyria led 23-13 at the end of the first and never looked back, beating Bay, 69-51, and improving to 4-1 on the year.

“We talked in the locker room about wanting to get out to a fast start,” Elyria coach Brett Larrick said. “We knew they were going to come out and pressure us and we wanted to attack that, we didn’t want to be passive.

“We got in the open court and Ryan hit some shots. I thought in the first half we really attacked the pressure and took care of the ball.”

Walsh, who had a 37 point game earlier this season against Westlake, finished his night against Bay with 30 points. The junior didn’t miss any of his seven attempts from the free throw line in the fourth quarter, helping the Pioneers stave off a Rockets run.

As a team Elyria was nine-of-nine from the line in the fourth and 15-of-18 overall.

“We did a great job tonight (from the free throw line),” Larrick said. “That’s really key for us to take care of that. We did a good job of (not turning the ball over and getting to the foul line) at the end. We corrected that and got it fixed and our defense did a good job of not bailing them out.”

The Pioneers played a near perfect first half, turning the ball over just four times and rarely allowing Bay to collect any sort of momentum. That largely continued into the second half, but those turnover numbers jumped in the third quarter.

Elyria turned the ball over ten times in the second half, leading to a Bay run that cut the lead to seven in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter.

The Rockets leading scorer, Cooper Mendelow who scored 11 points before fouling out in the final period, opened the fourth quarter with a basket. Bay capped off a 12-0 run that spanned the final minutes of the third and the opening minutes of the fourth with an Owen Payne make.

“We got a little careless (in the second half) and we turned it over a couple of times,” Larrick said. “We started fouling them and put them in the bonus (in the third quarter). But I thought in the fourth quarter we did a good job of not fouling so they didn’t stop the clock.”

Bay shot no free throws in the first half before attempting seven in the final 16 minutes. The Rockets made just four of those.

Walsh quickly ended the Bay run with an andone after stealing the ball around mid court. That basket kickstarted a 13-0 Elyria run that put the game out of reach.

Walsh’s backcourt mate, Mateo Medina, scored four of those points in about five seconds in the midst of that run. Medina made a layup and immediately stole the inbounds pass before scoring again.

“I just predicted where the ball was going to go,” Medina said. “I knew where (the player catching the inbounds pass) was and I just threw my hands up. “It felt great, it got the crowd going and everything. It was crazy.”

Medina finished with 16 points, joining Walsh and Omar Palos as the three Elyria players to reach double digits. Palos had 13 with Isaiah Johnson (eight points) and Lance Glover (two points) rounding out the scoring for the Pioneers.

For Bay, Payne and Mendelow were the lone players to break the ten point mark. Payne scored ten with Jace Knapp (nine points) and Evan Alexy (eight points) also making significant contributions.

Elyria returns to Southwestern Conference play on Dec. 17 when they travel to Olmsted Falls to take on the undefeated Bulldogs.

Falls entered the year as one of the favorites to win the conference, alongside Amherst, and presents the biggest SWC test the Pioneers have faced just two games into their inaugural season in the conference.

“We’ll enjoy tonight,” Larrick said. “It’s going to be a great challenge. They’re one of the top teams in the league and it gives us a great opportunity to see where we stand right now.”