When Avon and Elyria played each other earlier in the season Dec. 9, the Eagles bullied their way to a 66-46 win. This time around, the Pioneers matched the physicality and took care of business on their home court, 73-66, for their seventh straight win.
Elyria (11-5, 6-3 SWC) hasn’t lost in nearly three weeks, while Avon (10-4, 5-4 SWC) has now dropped its second game in a row after falling short to Avon Lake on Jan. 20. From that first meeting, the Eagles are still a physical team that plays tough defense. This matchup showed how much Elyria has grown in the past two months as a team.
“They pretty much beat us up last time in every single way, but we knew we had to come in ready for the bumps, pushes, everything,” Ryan Walsh said. “We took care of our own, hit shots, and we definitely matched the physicality. It was a big difference.”
Despite this, Avon dictated the start of the game with its defense. Tied 11-11, the Eagles capped off the first quarter with a 7-0 run. Elyria turned it over more times in the first quarter than the final three combined, and Avon took advantage. Matt Fischer knocked down a 3-pointer to start the run, and back-to-back layups from Nolan Good after steals increased the lead to 18-11.
Starting with the second quarter and beyond, Elyria settled down and played with composure. Walsh was still taking his fair share of hits, but stayed dialed in directing the offense. The Pioneers scored the first five points of the second to cut the deficit to two. The 3-point shot started to fall for Elyria after a triple by Mateo Medina tied the game at 21. Walsh and Jayden Crutcher followed Medina’s shot with a made floater each, extending the lead to three.
“We finally just went into spacing, and I thought our guards did a really good job getting downhill, making the right reads, getting to the free-throw line and hitting our guys for 3’s,” Elyria coach Brett Larrick said.
Avon came out of the break and scored the first five points to take the lead with baskets from Zane Austin and Tyson Ziegler. Elyria battled back with an 8-2 lead to take the lead back with an and-one from BJ Todd and a 3-pointer from Crutcher. The largest lead of the quarter was seven after a made jumper by Medina.
Winning, 48-44, heading into the fourth, Elyria needed one more run for the knockout blow. A 10-4 run would do it, capped by another Crutcher 3-pointer to increase the lead to double digits. Anytime Avon was able to score and cut the deficit, the Pioneers responded with a basket.
Crutcher made two 3s in the fourth quarter, Cam Bell hit one and Walsh made six free throws down the stretch. The quartet of Crutcher, Walsh, Medina and Bell combined for 66 of the 73 points.
“They knocked down shots. It’s hard when they have four shooters that can knock down shots,” Avon coach Mike Fitch said. “It’s hard to guard. They did a great job. I saw this little road streak that we had coming up, and it’s tough. I got kids that are leaders and are going to come back tomorrow, I guarantee it.”
Avon was able to cut it to a seven-point game in the final minute, but a missed triple from Luke Schafer sealed it.
Crutcher led all scorers with 20, while Walsh scored 19 with 10 free throws and Medina had 16. Bell got into double figures with 11 in the final seconds with a pair of free throws. Ziegler’s 15 points led Avon, with Austin and Nate Farley both adding 12.
“This was one of the biggest wins on our schedule,” Walsh said. “This was the game that we sucked last time. They beat us up. I think we came in and handled our business this time.”
