The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Lorain dedicates buzzer-beater win to teammate
Lorain is a family. When one is down, the rest are there to pick them up.
With the loss of senior post player Christian Ruiz for its Lake Erie League showdown against Shaker Heights, Asiah Kielian’s buzzer-beater handed the Titans a 72-70 win on senior night.
“As soon as it went in, I thought of Christian (Ruiz),” Kielian said. “We didn’t have him today, with a (family matter). As soon as it went in, I knew it was for Christian. He made that shot. I went to the stands and said that it was for Christian and my seniors. … Going into the student section was a great experience and a great moment. I will never forget that.”
Lorain led since the late first quarter. However, Shaker Heights, led by Kellon Smith’s 29 points, fueled a late comeback. Smith was 12-for-12 at the free-throw line and made two to tie the score at 70-70 with 5.5 seconds remaining.
Kielian was the inbounder, the drawn-up play was to pass to Mikah Kimbrough and he would throw it to one of the two teammates running downcourt for a basket.
The Red Raiders had it covered, but what they didn’t cover was Kielian on the give-and-go, which was the fail-safe on the giveand-go to score.
“We have had some really memorable last-second wins,” Lorain coach Matt Kielian said. “We had last year against Copley (in the playoffs) with Jordan Daniels. They worked so hard. We were short-handed a little bit tonight with Christian (Ruiz) and the kids really wanted to do it for him.”
Seventy-two points was a season-high for the Titans, which could be a credit to them playing a four-guard lineup that helped spread the floor for drivers to the basket and added an extra shooter on the perimeter.
“We had four guards in there. It was important that we tried to box out,” Coach Kielian said. “(Shaker Heights) had to match up against us, too. We were able to go downhill and penetrate and kick. We got the ball to some shooters. We had some open looks and we were able to knock them down.”
Typically Ike Rowser comes off the bench for the Titans, but the spark plug lit up in the first half to score 15. He was one of five players to reach double digits in the scoring column with D.J. Pettis (15), Jai’den Guerra-Howard (10), Kielian (14) and Anthony “Mooki” Lorenzo (13).
“I had my coach trust me to put me in that position. We had (Christan) out and I felt like I had to step up and hit some big shots. It felt good to come into the game and knock down some shots,” Rowser said.
Pettis impressed at the point guard spot to keep the turnovers low, with a good balance in scoring and passing. He had five assists with his 15 points.
“You can’t say enough about (Pettis),” Coach Kielian said. “He is guarding the best player every night. He also has had to take on the point guard responsibilities. He really played his butt off tonight, and I am proud of him.”
Lorain snapped a fivegame losing streak to improve to 10-11 (6-7 in LEL). It will have one more game before its first-round postseason matchup against Wadsworth, which will be at Warrensville Heights on Feb. 17.
Shaker Heights dropped to 10-10 (7-7 in LEL) and will play Massillon Jackson on Feb. 18.
“As soon as it went in, I thought of Christian (Ruiz). We didn’t have him today, with a (family matter). As soon as it went in, I knew it was for Christian. He made that shot.” — Lorain’s Asiah Kielian