Boys basketball: Elyria breaks district drought, downs Olmsted Falls for first title in 31 years
Tim Gebhardt | The Chronicle-Telegram
EATON TWP — Elyria High finally exorsized the demons of districts past Saturday night in front of a full house at the Midview Division I finals.
The Pioneers advance to their first Sweet 16 in 31 years with a 98-84 victory over Olmsted Falls that was anything but easy but certainly sweet.
“Like I told the kids,” said Elyria coach Bob Walsh, “bang on the door long enough, it’ll break down for you.”
At one point in their history, the Pioneers dominated the district tournament — winning nine years in a row and 15 times in 20 years from 1957 through 1977 — but they haven’t played a tournament game outside Lorain County since. All that changes Wednesday night at Cleveland State when the Pioneers (17-6) challenge St. Edward in the regional semifinal.
Elyria was on the doorstep the past two seasons but fell short by losing the final to Strongsville. Walsh has now taken four schools to the Sweet 16.
“I had a little conversation with the kids that have been with me,” Walsh said. “We’ve been there before, let’s get it this time. They really seemed to hone in on it.”
Elyria’s superior quickness built what appeared to be an insurmountable 40-20 lead with 5:16 to play in the second quarter but no one told Olmsted Falls it was out of reach.
The Pioneers, after spotting Falls the game’s first seven points, went 12-of-17 from the field and hit all seven of their free throws in scoring 31
first-quarter points.
With its backcourt senior trio of Demetrius Dalton, Promis Cabbil and Rayshawn Camel leading the way, Elyria was on fire, scoring an unbelievable 56 points in the first half. By halftime, the Pioneers had made 21 of 32 shots and all but one of 13 free throws.
However, the Bulldogs, behind all-star Pat Pellerite, closed to within 63-62 with 1:45 left in the third quarter on successive 3-pointers by Jim Brabenec. Pellerite finished the game with 31 points and 13 boards. Brabenec scored 17 as did Thursday’s hero Scott Kimmey.
“You don’t come this far and decide to quit,” veteran Falls coach Pat Donahue said after his team ended the season 16-8. “It’s not in our vocabulary. We’re not going to quit.
“We knew we’d make a run at them. We just didn’t know if we could get all the way back. That’s the best they’ve shot from the free throw line since we started to scout them.”
“I knew things would settle in and (Falls) would make a run,” Walsh said. “I expected a run, but I really didn’t want (Falls) to get as close as they did.”
The Pioneers weathered the storm and pulled away down the stretch by playing smart offensively and hitting key free throws and baskets.
“We emphasize as a coaching staff to share the ball,” Walsh said. “Be ready to share, don’t force. To me, it’s a team game.”
The Pioneers were 23-of-32 from the line, but it was the way they shared the basketball to put themselves in high-percentage situations that really told the story. Dalton, Camel and Cabbil have known each other and have played basketball with each other almost since infancy. The three combined for 59 points, handled the basketball almost flawlessly under Falls’ pressure and still came up with a load of assists.
“When you scout them, you know they’re quick,” Donahue said, “you just don’t know how quick. They’re the first team we’ve played all year that was able to handle our pressure just by getting the ball and dribbling it.”
Camel made two spectacular feeds in the late stages of the game to preserve the lead — finding both Seryrell Davis and Travis Noble open for a layups to give Elyria a 86-78 lead with 2:21 to play.
“I’m not a selfish person,” Camel said. “I like everybody to stay in the game and play ball with me. It’s called a team game, not an ‘I’ game.”
Davis had another big game inside, controlling a dozen rebounds and scoring 16 points. Noble, the lone junior in the starting lineup, added 13 points.
“We had to come out focused,” Davis said. “As seniors, we wanted our year — ’08 — up on that banner in the gym.”
“Coach told us it’s been 31 years,” said Dalton, who led the scoring with 26 points. “We took that to heart. We wanted to make history. We didn’t want to go home.”
“We had to play all four quarters,” said Cabbil, who played a good portion of the second half with four fouls. “We needed to keep our energy up. We were faster. We needed to keep things under control. We wanted to keep playing. I’m not ready to go home.”
“Elyria was always the king over here,” said Walsh, referring to the past. “Elyria has a great tradition in basketball. I don’t know how many people around today know what was going on back in the late ’50s, in the ’60s and the ’70s — about how well Elyria played.
“We’re only opening the door. We have to march through it. The younger kids have to latch onto the program. The program’s headed in the right direction. We’ll have a new school in a couple years. All those kids should be on positive vibes.”
Contact Tim Gebhardt at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.
Elyria 98, Olmsted Falls 84
OLMSTED FALLS (84): Scott Kimmey 6-4-17, Mark Hurrell 1-2-4, Jim Brabenec 6-2-17, Steve Battaglia 1-0-2, Pat Pellerite 10-10-31, Tony Lanza 2-0-6, Mike Abraham 0-0-0, Brandon Russo 2-0-4, Orlando Glenn 0-0-0, John Atkinson 1-0-3, Brett Emerine 0-0-0, Spencer Hawkins 0-0-0, Ian Sparks 0-0-0. Totals 29-18-84.
ELYRIA (98): Promis Cabbil 4-8-16, Demetrius Dalton 11-2-26, Rayshawn Camel 5-7-17, Seryrell Davis 8-0-16, Travis Noble 5-2-13, Mykel Williams 1-2-4, John Yeaples 2-0-4, Alex McKenna 0-0-0, Maurice Woods 0-0-0, Mike Woolfork 0-0-0, Mike Cannon-Wohlever 0-2-2, Brandon Mueller 0-0-0. Totals 36-23-98.
Olmsted Falls 13 28 23 20 — 84
Elyria 31 25 13 29 — 98
Three-point goals: Olmsted Falls 8-19 (Brabenec 3, Lanza 2, Kimmey, Pellerite, Atkinson), Elyria 3-10 (Dalton 2, Noble). Field Goals: Olmsted Falls 29-58 (50 percent), Elyria 36-64 (56 percent). Free Throws: Olmsted Falls 18-23 (78 percent), Elyria 23-32 (72 percent). Rebounds: Olmsted Falls 33 (Pellerite 13), Elyria 35 (Davis 12). Turnovers: Olmsted Falls 13, Elyria 11. Fouls: Olmsted Falls 22, Elyria 23. Technical Foul: Battaglia. Fouled Out: Noble, Brabenec.
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Filed by Tim Gebhardt | The Chronicle-Telegram March 2nd, 2008 in Sports. Popularity: 10% |
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