Elyria Catholic holds on for GLC victory over Bay

The Bay Rockets visited Elyria Catholic Jan. 14 for a rematch against the Panthers, falling short in the previous matchup of Great Lakes Conference opponents.

Powered by Jack Kenneally’s 26 points and Colin Kenneally’s nine, the Panthers hung on late to beat the Rockets, 61-56, after the Rockets made a second-half run.

“It’s a tough group of kids. It was bend but don’t break out there. There’s the highs and lows throughout the season in any game and really it’s the better team that can handle it. Tonight we showed we’re the tougher team and can handle the pressure,” Elyria Catholic coach Robert Palmer said.

Colin Kenneally banked a free throw for the game’s first point, Rockets forward Owen Payne drilled a 3-pointer to give Bay an early edge and a layup as the driver of the offense.

After a nearly three-minute scoring drought in the first quarter, Collin Kenneally knocked down his first basket, keying a 11-0 run to end the opening quarter up 14-5.

Bay got its first basket in over five minutes from Jace Knapp after two more Panthers points to cut the deficit in half.

Colin Kenneally and Jack Kenneally kept hitting their shots to expand their lead out to 22-8, forcing Rockets head coach Jared Shetzer to call his second timeout with just under five minutes to play in the first half.

“I think it was just our energy, coming out in the first quarter and taking a big lead, I think our energy and our momentum from the crowd brought this team together and played as one team out there,” Jack Kenneally said.

“We just worked hard together in practice,” Colin Kenneally added, “After our loss on Tuesday, we were able to play with more momentum and more energy behind us tonight. We showed that energy tonight. We didn’t let the opponent in front of us beat us.”

Both Kenneally boys would continue to be a thorn in the Rockets’ side the rest of the first half, with Jack putting up 12 points, including an empathic dunk, and Jack adding seven of his own, giving the Panthers a 32-18 halftime lead.

Both teams came out firing in the second half, putting up 17 points in under three and a half minutes, with the Panthers still holding a 13 point advantage.

Bay started to chip away slowly at the Panthers’ defense, locking their offense down as they nailed a few shots to force Panthers coach Robert Palmer to call timeout with just under two to play in the third.

That didn’t stop Bay from continuing to fight back, only down seven at 46-39 heading into the final quarter of play.

Both teams kept the game close, the Panthers holding a 50-44 lead with four minutes left to play, and the Panthers in foul trouble late.

Bay got a crucial basket with 2:50 left, a deep three to get back within three of the Panthers, who had been stifled offensively the prior few minutes until Jack Kenneally layed one in to put the hosts up by five again.

That started a quick EC run that put the Panthers up 10 in a hurry, putting the Rockets in a hole that was too late to escape from.