The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Lorain outpaces Avon, 66-52
What was pegged as a non-conference tune-up quickly turned into quite the scare as Lorain slept walked through the first three quarters of a 66-52 victory on the road against Avon on Feb. 19. The Titans (20-1), who are ranked fourth in Division I, looked out of sorts and disinterested from the opening tip. Lorain’s lackluster play fueled Avon’s desire, despite its home crowd being majority Lorain. The Titans trailed 14-13 and the end of the first quarter, and barely outscored Avon in the second to take a 28-27 lead into the half. Lorain awoke towards the end of the third quarter, and played “Steel City” basketball the rest of the way as the fourth quarter became a highlight reel of Taevon Pierre-Louis dunks and a suffocating defensive effort, outscoring Avon 22-12.
Pierre-Louis tallied 15 points in the fourth quarter, finishing with a gamehigh 26 points, six rebounds and two assists. With everyone in attendance a little puzzled by the sluggish performance, he knew it was time for him to ignite the offense. “We wanted to prove that they can’t be in the same gym as us, that they can’t compete on our level,” PierreLouis said of his fourth quarter show. “They are a good team, they are a solid team. I felt like we were putting pressure on them and they were just making the right decisions, but I don’t think we were putting the right pressure on them. In the second half, we played smarter, and harder.” The final score was misleading, but Lorain coach John Rositano believes his team might have needed to be brought back down to earth before they get ready for the tournament against more Southwestern Conference competition. “We probably needed a game like this because we took them for granted a little bit,” coach Rositano said. “We took the court like we could just walk on the court because we are Lorain and beat them. We just got done telling them that it does not work that way. Sports do not work that way. They have a lot of pride and they are well-coached and do a good job. They did things that hurt us a little bit.” Led by 20 points from senior Jake Parker, the Eagles (14-7) flustered Lorain throughout three quarters of play. It was perfect storm of crisp passes, full effort and a few lucky shots that kept Avon neck-and-neck heading into the fourth quarter. “We are really proud of our guys and our effort,” Eagles coach Kevin Sapara said. “We wanted to come out and compete, and we never want to lose, so we are not happy about losing. But we know that we can compete with those guys, and hopefully we get another chance to play them in the tournament.” Lorain is the No. 1 seed in the Elyria District and will play the winner of Berea-Midpark vs. Midview, while Avon drew the No. 4 seed and will play North Olmsted on Feb. 27 With Eagles senior Ryan Maloy sidelined due to injury, Avon’s Jake Parker lit up the Titans defense for six 3’s. The sensational performance was nothing new from Avon’s other senior leader. “He has been really good for us all year. He is a senior captain and really good shooter, and can do a lot of good things,” Sapara said. “It doesn’t surprise us that he does that. It’s just some nights that he will hit more 3’s, but he is a very versatile player and has been doing it for us all year.” Dean Emerine and Ronnier Barrett-Reed each chipped in nine points for the Eagles. Both teams went back in fourth in a wild third quarter with multiple lead changes. Emerine’s 3 gave Avon a 33-32 lead with 4:38 left in the quarter. Lorain senior Kam Davis took back the lead a minute later with a 3 of his own, giving the Titans a 37-34 advantage. The frantic action continued up and down the court as Jake Parker notched a 3 with 2:15 left trimming Lorain’s lead to 40-37. Amongst the chaotic scene, Avon continued to pass the ball consistently, not allowing Lorain to establish its smothering trap defense. “We were trying to be disciplined, trying to take and make open shots,” Sapara said. “We wanted to run through our offense to try and just be as patient as we can under their pressure. We did a good job of that, especially early on. But some of our turnovers kind of turned into quick points for them, and that hurts.” Lorain led 44-38 heading into the final frame. With his team in a dog fight on the road, Rositano credited Avon’s fight. “Quite honestly they outplayed us for a good part of the game,” Rositano said. “I thought we played hard with Loraintype effort for about four or five minutes for the course of the game, that was it. Other than that, I thought they beat us to loose balls, and they have pride. Those Avon kids are tough, and we just didn’t play the way we were capable of playing.” Senior Devon Grant tallied 13 points while junior Jordan Jackson added 10 for the Titans.