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Last update: 02/03/08 |
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Game Summary: Rocky River 12/04 |
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Avon Lake Shoremen
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Rocky River Pirates |
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VS |
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Avon Lake vs. Rock River JOEL HAMMOND , Morning Journal Correspondent ROCKY RIVER -- Avon Lake senior Tommy Kuzniar swears he was nervous coming into his senior basketball season. Coming off a broken foot that limited him to a handful of games last winter and not knowing what to expect, he looks anything but nervous. Kuzniar, who scored 27 points in the Shoremen's season-opening win Friday night over Westlake, scored 26 last night on 10-of-11 shooting as Avon Lake improved to 2-0 with a 61-54 win over Rocky River. ''I was really nervous coming into this year, because É I knew people were going to be expecting a lot,'' Kuzniar said. ''I was pretty nervous, but so far it's been going great. The team's doing well and we're having fun.'' Kuzniar has taken on the role played last year by former Avon Lake standout Dave Reichlin, only with a twist: This time around, the Shoremen's supporting cast is in lock step with Kuzniar. Jeff Ickes had 13 points, Brian Mielcusny scored eight and Mike Herrilko grabbed 10 rebounds. The Shoremen used their depth, especially in an up-and-down third quarter that featured six lead changes. Ickes scored twice and Mielcusny once to give the Shoremen a 30-28 lead two minutes into the period, Bryce Alurovic hit a 3-pointer two minutes later to tie it at 33 and Mielcusny scored again later in the quarter for a 39-37 Shoremen lead. Then Kuzniar did his thing, scoring eight points in the first five minutes of the fourth, helping the Shoremen open a 53-48 lead, their largest since the first quarter. Avon Lake made 12-of-14 free throws in the fourth to seal the win. ''Last year, David Reichlin was a phenomenal player, but it was said a lot that we only had him and not a lot of other guys stepped up,'' Kuzniar said. ''This year, we're trying to involve everyone.'' Avon Lake coach Eric Smith said this was exactly the kind of non-conference game he was looking for when he scheduled the Pirates. The student section was loud, the gym was hot and the play was physical -- Rocky River's rotation features four players from a football team that has been to the Division III playoffs back-to-back seasons. ''I love it. That's why I scheduled this game,'' Smith said. ''This is the kind of game you need to play to get ready for the Southwestern Conference, because there's never a night off.'' The Shoremen also faced some adversity on the scoreboard. After they had opened a 15-9 lead in the second quarter, the Pirates (1-1) used a 14-2 run that included all four of their first half 3-pointers, turning that deficit into a 23-17 lead. ''They really like to run their motion, run their back screens and back cuts, so we spent a lot of time with trying to keep the ball out of the paint and force them out to the perimeter,'' Smith said. ''The problem was that we were overhelping. We were helping in situations where we didn't need to help. That allowed them to get their feet set and shoot some open 3s.'' Avon Lake had 20 turnovers, but held the Pirates to 31 percent shooting (18-of-59), including 24 percent (6-of-25) from 3-point range. The Shoremen shot 52 percent (23-of-44). |
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Varsity Recap: |
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Junior Varsity Recap: |
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Team |
1st |
2nd |
Total |
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Avon Lake |
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61 |
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Rocky River |
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54 |
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Team |
1st |
2nd |
Total |
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Avon Lake |
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53 |
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Rock River |
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40 |