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Last update: 02/03/08 |
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Game Summary: Keystone 12/27 |
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Avon Lake Shoremen
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Keystone Wildcats |
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VS |
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Shoremen “Freeze” the Cats – Happy Holidays! The Shoremen took their 5-0 record to Avon against the upstart Keystone Wildcats (5-3) 12/27 hoping to shed the Christmas “Blues” that plagued the Shoremen at Avon in 2006! The Shoremen jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead with a nice 3 pointer by Nick Firment and a big-time drop step bank shot off the left block for Mike Herrilko. Keystone countered nicely running the “Flex-Motion” offense resulting in a few uncontested baskets. Jeff Ickes tied the game 7-7 with an 8’ jumper and followed up with a rebound put-back to push the Shoremen lead to 9-7 with 3:48 in the first. Second chance rebounding kept the Wildcats close and found themselves up 13-10 at the end of the first quarter. Keystone gained confidence at the end of the first quarter and picked up their game in the second. Jeff Ickes kept the Shoremen close 14-20 early in the second quarter. Nick Firment found Mark Homenik open on a nice lay-up to cut the lead to 20-22. Tommy Kuzniar worked himself open on the perimeter for a much needed 3-Pointer from Parker Russell to cut the Wildcat lead to 3 (23-25) with 2:37 left in the second quarter. Following two free throws by the Wildcats, Brian Mielcusny had a nice move for two points closing out the first half trailing the Wildcats 30-25. The Shoremen came out determined in the second half. Mike Herrilko started off the 3rd quarter with another patented drop-step bank shot to pull within three. However, both teams appeared to go flat with for a few minutes as the defense prevailed. Following another Wildcat miss and long re-bound Nick Firment found Tommy Kuzniar open down the sideline resulting in a game tying lay-up. On the Wildcat next possession virtually the same play happened as Firment got the ball to Kuzniar for an easy two. After another Wildcat missed attempt Dan Outcalt found Tommy Kuzniar wide open behind the ark for his second 3-pointer of the night pushing the lead to 37-34. Dan Outcalt closed out the 3rd quarter splitting a pair of free throws to extend the Shoremen lead to 38-34. The Shoremen held Keystone to 4 points in the third quarter led by Ickes, Mielcusny and Herrilko as they forced the Wildcats to adjust shots due to their size and positioning. Mike Herrilko had 3 nice blocks in a 2 minute span that allowed the Shoremen to get the ball out on the fast break. The Shoremen had the momentum in the 4th quarter going on a 15-4 run! Outcalt hit Tim Daniels on the left wing for a back-breaking three that seemed to take the wind out of the poor shooting Wildcats. At the 3:50 mark, the Shoremen pushed the lead to 44-35. The Shoremen controlled the ball working their half-court offense milking a 46-36 lead. Incredibly, with 1:29 left in the game the Wildcats had only mustered 6 points in the entire second half! Keystone forced into a must-foul situation quickly put the Shoremen into a bonus 1+1 situation. The Wildcats were “Frozen-Cold” the entire second half as the Shoremen defense proved to be too stiff for Keystone. Tommy Kuzniar and Brian Mielcusny sealed the win hitting the next 6 points from the charity stripe. Keystone finally found the bottom of the net with 56 seconds remaining, but it was too little to late and the Shoremen sailed to a 54-43 “not as close as the score” WIN! The Shoremen will play Elyria Catholic on Saturday in the Avon Holiday Championship! |
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Avon Lake vs. Keystone A Second Half Christmas for the SHOREMEN!! The Avon Holiday Tournament has traditionally been a tough place for the Shoremen to shed the Holiday Turkey and tonight was no exception. Keystone scouted the young Shoremen well coming out in a 1-2-2 full court Zone Trapping defense in the first quarter. Avon Lake countered with a smothering man-to-man defense which resulted in very few shots on goal for both teams. Mike Magyar cut the Keystone lead to 4-3 with a nice reverse lay-up move with 3:12 left in the first quarter, and followed that up with a 6’ bank shot off the well executed out of bounds play. The first quarter ended with Keystone up 10-9. Notably, 6 of the 9 points came off out of bounds plays that were run to perfection by the Shoremen! The Shoremen caught fire in the 2nd quarter as Brandon Muck drilled a long 3 to tie the game with 4:58 in the quarter. Keystone and the Shoremen traded baskets as both teams tried to ignite a spark with their press. Brandon Spitzer and Pat England both had great looks at the basket and each knocked down back-to-back 3’s that pushed the Shoremen up 19-18. Dom Whitfield picked off a Wildcat pass and Pat England and T.J. Thompson were off to the races running the fast break to perfection resulting in two more for the Shoremen. Mike Maygar follows that up with a 15’ baseline jumper and a nice drop step spin move in the paint that extended the Avon Lake lead to 25-20. On the ensuing possession Dom Whitfield kept the ball alive under the boards and got the ball in the hoop with a good second effort for a 27-20 halftime lead. The halftime locker room “talk” by Coach Fitch & Vonderau must have been a “doosy” as the Shoremen came out of the locker room as if Santa had just arrived Christmas morning. The Shoremen pressure defense kicked in forcing two steals and Whitfield and Muck both capitalized on nice passes by Pat England. The Keystone halftime speech wasn’t as effective for the Wildcats as they couldn’t match the Shoremen newly found intensity. T.J. Thompson had a nice steal and lay-up pushing the lead to 36-20. Mike Maygar got a great baseline look from 18’ on a pass from Ben O’Connor which drew nothing but net to move the Shoremen up 38-20 and the romp was on! The Shoremen started breaking the press with ease, Keystone lost their will to play and the 3rd quarter ended 44-21! The 4th quarter was all Shoremen as the fast break continued. Trent Toy, Dan Olemacher, Greg Stephens, Mike Maygar and Dom Whitfield all jumped on the rebounds and Steve Heine, Brandon Spitzer, Kyle McNamara and T.J. Thompson were running the fast break as if they were in practice in the 4th quarter. Kyle McNamara had a nice steal followed by a clever handed lay-up that pushed the lead to 56-26. There were numerous missed opportunities by Keystone that resulted in picture perfect 3-pass only fast breaks for the Shoremen. The Shoremen defense found their legs limiting Keystone to 8 points in the second half and notably 1 point in the third quarter. A great second half effort by the Shoremen and a nice win moving their overall record to 4-2! |
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Junior Varsity Recap: |
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Varsity Recap: |
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Team |
1st |
2nd |
Total |
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Avon Lake |
25 |
29 |
54 |
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Keystone |
30 |
13 |
43 |
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Team |
1st |
2nd |
Total |
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Avon Lake |
27 |
31 |
58 |
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Keystone |
20 |
8 |
28 |