Boys sectional basketball: Second-seeded Elyria squeaks by upset-minded Westlake
Tim Gebhardt | The Chronicle-Telegram
EATON TWP. — Surviving.
It’s all that matters come tournament time.
That’s exactly what second-seeded Elyria did Saturday night in getting past a determined Westlake team, 57-53. The Pioneers (15-6) next take on their recent tournament nemesis — Strongsville — in Thursday’s Midview Division I district semifinal. The Mustangs have eliminated Elyria on this floor the past two years in the finals.
“First tournament games are difficult,” Elyria coach Bob Walsh said.
He should know. He’s been in plenty of them over the course of 941 games as a varsity coach. Walsh is now 641-300.
How Elyria survived is debatable. Certainly an offensive foul called on Westlake’s Alex Pandrangi with just under 10 seconds to play will have fans talking at least until next week. The turnover and a quick foul in the backcourt led to a pair of free throws by Promis Cabbil to sew up the victory.
“We had the ball,” said Westlake coach Bob Patton, whose Demons ended the season 10-12. “Our guy comes off the screen wide open and the next thing you know there’s a whistle.”
It sent Pandrangi off the court with his fifth foul after the 6-foot-3 junior scored nine of his game-high 23 points to rally the Demons within a whisker of defeating Elyria.
Cabbil had just missed a pair of free throws earlier and was just 1-for-5 before swishing the final two.
“I just blocked it out of my mind,” Cabbil said. “I knew I could make them. My confidence was still high and my teammates encouraged me.”
It shouldn’t have come down to that as far as the Pioneers were concerned. Elyria appeared to have control of the game at the outset of the final quarter when it ran off seven points to take a 49-36 lead.
Rayshawn Camel started the run with a four-point play when he hit a 3-pointer from the far left baseline and made the free throw after being knocked to the ground. Westlake turned it over and fouled. Travis Noble missed a pair of free throws only to have Camel come away with the rebound and get it to Demetrius Dalton for another 3-pointer from almost the exact spot on the baseline.
Elyria still led 53-43 with 3:18 left off a great move and shot off the dribble by Dalton, who led the Pioneers with 23 points.
However, Westlake trimmed the deficit to 55-53 on Pandrangi’s 3-pointer from the top of the circle and regained possession on a Dalton turnover with 20 seconds left.
“They came ready to play,” Dalton said of the Demons.
“I thought we put ourselves in a position to win the game,” Patton said. “The kids made a real nice comeback. We got ourselves down 10. (Elyria) came out with a decent-sized run to start the fourth quarter but our kids battled back.”
It didn’t surprise Walsh.
“Westlake is a young team, had a game on this floor and had a lot of confidence,” he said. “They have a very good coach and he has them playing very well. I knew it would be this type of game. I knew we weren’t going to walk in here and blow a team out.”
Elyria held a precarious grip on the game from the second quarter on. Westlake’s last lead came early in the second quarter when 6-2 junior Ouddi Hamden scored on a layup with 6:37 left for an 18-17 lead. Moments later, two free throws and a layup by senior Seryrell Davis put Elyria in front for good.
Davis chipped in 12 points while Noble led the rebound effort with 10. Hamden cleared 11 rebounds and scored 10 points for the Demons, who bring everyone but senior guard Chris Considine back next year.
Contact Tim Gebhardt at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.
Elyria 57, Westlake 53
WESTLAKE (53): Ouddi Hamden 3-3-10, Mike Connolly 1-0-3, Chris Considine 1-2-5, Scott Bishop 3-0-7, Alex Pandrangi 9-4-23, Jason Labroo 1-1-3, Shane Skelly 0-2-2. Totals 18-12-53.
ELYRIA (57): Promis Cabbil 3-3-9, Demetrius Dalton 10-0-23, Rayshawn Camel 2-1-6, Seryrell Davis 5-2-12, Travis Noble 2-1-5, Mykel Williams 0-0-0, Alex McKenna 1-0-2, John Yeaples 0-0-0. Totals 23-7-57.
Westlake 14 11 11 17 — 53
Elyria 15 14 13 15 — 57
Three-point goals: Westlake 5-15 (Hamden, Connolly, Considine, Bishop, Pandrangi), Elyria 4-12 (Dalton 3, Camel). Field Goals: Westlake 18-38 (47 percent), Elyria 23-53 (43 percent). Free Throws: Westlake 12-19 (63 percent), Elyria 7-16 (44 percent). Rebounds: Westlake 28 (Hamden 11), Elyria 32 (Noble 10). Turnovers: Westlake 17, Elyria 8. Fouls: Westlake 16, Elyria 17. Fouled Out: Pandrangi.
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Filed by Tim Gebhardt | The Chronicle-Telegram February 24th, 2008 in Sports. Popularity: 6% |
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