EC Sticks Close, Bay Finishes Strong

Friday, February 24th, 2012

Elyria Catholic finished out their season at Bay High School against the Rockets for a WSC match-up. With EC keeping their head in the game, Bay still prevailed at the final seconds of this match-up to win 65-58 over the Elyria Catholic Panthers.

In the beginning of the match-up, Bay started out hot, keeping EC scoreless until the 5 minute mark, and scoring ten points during EC's scoring drought. It was not long until the Panthers would get the ball rolling, and use their inside game to keep in this one. Sophomore Jeremy Holley scored the first nine points for EC, and scoring 16 points overall at the end of the first half. EC was only down 18-15 at the end of the first.

The Panthers ended the first half on top 34-32 after Junior John Stursa was fouled at the buzzer, and hit two free throws.

The constant back and forth scoring between Bay and EC continued in the second half, with Bay right off the bat taking the lead hitting a three-pointer and two free throws. The Panthers would continue to play chase until Junior Tyler Riddell hit one three to tie things up 45-45, and then the next possession hitting another three to give EC their first lead since halftime 48-45 toward the closing of the third quarter. Bay responded quickly tying things up 48-48 heading into the fourth quarter.

With 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Bay had a six point lead over EC 54-48. Elyria Catholic would battle back with baskets by Holley and Riddell to cut the deficit to three for EC. Bay continued to execute baskets, and had a 60-55 lead over EC. Junior Danny Whitacre hit a three with 14 seconds left to only put EC down by a bucket.

Elyria Catholic unintentionally fouled Bay, and this put the Rockets into a 1 and 1 situation. Bay hit one free throw, missed the second, and got the offensive rebound but was fouled right off the bat by EC to take another trip to the free throw line. Bay would hit one more free throw, and get sent to the line one more time to confirm the 63-58 victory over Elyria Catholic

EC finished the regular season 9-11 (6-6 in WSC play) and will begin tournament play vs. Oberlin High Scool Monday, February 27th at Wooster High School.

Stats:

Cory Strasko - 2 PTS, 3 AST, 3 STL
Tyler Riddell - 12 PTS, 2 AST, 1 STL
Jeremy Holley - 20 PTS, 11 RB, 1 AST
Danny Whitacre - 11 PTS, 3 RB, 2 BLK
Joe Dempsey - 1 PTS, 2 RB, 2 AST
Andrew Konno - 6 PTS, 1 RB, 1 AST
Matt Morgan - 4 RB, 1 STL
John Stursa - 6 PTS, 2 AST

EC's JV Company Reaches Goal, Falls to Bay in OT

"If we don't score more than 29 points tonight, I'll be livid." Was Coach Corey Taylor's second objective behind winning against Bay on Friday. The last time these two JV teams met, EC only scored 29 points, and took a loss along with it.

EC's JV Boys started out rough in the first quarter, taking seven three pointers, and only made one, the shot was made by Christian Stanziano. That bucket would be the only bucket made by EC's JV Company in the first quarter. Bay led 9-3.

The second quarter was the Panther JV comeback, in which they outscored Bay 9-2. EC's JV Boys headed into half up 12-11 over the Rockets. The JV Panthers would continue that lead at the end of the third quarter, 30-24, headed into the fourth.

EC maintained the lead, but Bay crept up slowly in the fourth quarter. The Rockets took their first lead since the middle of the second quarter at the 4:28 mark of the fourth quarter 31-30. As the final seconds approached, Angelo Cruz hit a bucket to cut the score to 39-37 with EC behind. Bay would fail to score their next possession, giving EC time to tie things up. It was Sophomore Zach Konno who had the ball, and with 3 seconds left Konno hit the tying bucket to send this one into overtime with the score tied 39-39.

Overtime was caused by EC's JV Panthers, but was taken over by Bay's JV Rockets. Bay's points were all produced from free throws, and free throws won them the game. Bay hit 10 of 12 free throws to confirm the 50-41 victory over EC's JV Company.

EC's JV Company finished 13-7 on the season.

Official Elyria Catholic Sports Reporter
Jake Hromada '14

EC Mid-Game Drought Causes Rocky River to Catch Fire

February 17th, 2012

The Elyria Catholic Varsity Boys Basketball Team hosted Rocky River High School for Senior Night at the Coliseum. After a decimating loss and physical match-up for Elyria Catholic, the Panthers were confident round two would be theirs. With a great start to the match-up for EC, Rocky River upped their defense, halting EC to single digit points scored in the second and third quarters keying the victory for the Rocky River Pirates 49-39.

The first quarter EC came out on fire with a 7-3 run to start things out. Sophomore Jeremy Holley had 8 out of the 17 points scored by the Panthers at the end of the quarter. Going into the second quarter, Elyria Catholic was up 17-7 with momentum on their side. It was the second quarter where things started going downhill for EC. Rocky River outscored Elyria Catholic 12-4 in the second quarter to close the first half 23-19 with the Panthers on top.

Rocky River's zone defense kept the EC offense quiet, and forcing turnovers. EC had 20 turnovers total in this match-up. The Pirates took their first lead of the game with 4:41 left in the third quarter on a three point shot. The shot put Rocky River up 25-23 over EC. A buzzer beating three-pointer for Rocky River at the end of the third quarter gave the Pirates a more comfortable lead 33-29 going into the fourth.

The fourth quarter was the first time EC had scored double digit points as a team since the first quarter. However, Rocky River never dropped the momentum, and outscored EC 16-10. Elyria Catholic dropped their tenth loss of the season, and fifth conference loss on Friday. The Panthers will face the Bay Rockets for their last regular season match-up on Friday, February 24th at Bay High School. Tip-off is at 7:30.

Elyria Catholic will also travel out to Wooster High School for the DIII tournament on Monday, February 27th against Oberlin High School.

Stats:

Jeremy Holley - 22 PTS
Tyler Riddell - 3 PTS
Andrew Konno - 2 PTS
Danny Whitacre - 6 PTS
Joe Dempsey - 4 PTS
Xavier Bennett - 2 PTS

EC's JV Company Did Not "Get Thrown To The Tool Shed" This Time Around

Head Coach Corey Taylor told EC Boys Hoops Blog that the JV Rocky River team "Took them to the tool shed last time, so they need to win", and the EC JV Boys Basketball Squad did just that.

EC Kept a good lead all through-out the game, but things started to get closer then expected come the fourth quarter. Rocky River tied the game at 41-41, until Freshman Ceevan Shelton sunk a three-pointer to put the Panthers back on top 44-41. Freshman Justin Taylor extended the lead 46-41 for the EC JV Boys with a break-a-way lay-up. EC's JV Company ended the game strong, winning 54-49 over the JV Rocky River Pirates.

Holley Scores 29, EC Wins Second Straight

Friday, February 14th, 2012

The Elyria Catholic Varsity Boys Basketball team welcomed the Clearview Clippers to the Coliseum for Friday night basketball. The Panthers' game plan was to use Sophomore Jeremy Holley inside the paint, and EC did just that against the Clearview Clippers in this match-up for an Elyria Catholic victory.

The first quarter summed up an already big outing for the 6'5" Sophomore center Jeremy Holley, who had 12 of the 18 points scored in the first quarter.
"I knew we had to rebound the ball tonight, and we knew we had a great advantage over (Clearview) with our size. We did just what we wanted tonight." EC continued scoring inside, and went into half on top 30-24. Holley at had a double double already heading into the second half.

However, the Panthers did not play inside all night. Junior Tyler Riddell found great success at the 3-point line going 4-4 and scoring 18 points altogether.
"I had a couple not-so-on games prior to this, so it feels good to come back finally." Riddell said. Junior Danny Whitacre made his night memorable by executing his first ever in-game dunk.
"It actually kind of hurt when I did it. I just couldn't stop smiling." Whitacre had to say about his experience. Whitacre's dunk caused an amped up Elyria Catholic community, and shot great momentum for the Panthers. Elyria Catholic finished the game strong, beating the Clippers 67-56.

The Elyria Catholic Varsity Boys Basketball team is 9-9 (6-4 in WSC play) and will host Rocky River High School at 7:30. It is Senior Night at Elyria Catholic, come support your Seniors!

Stats:

Cory Strasko - 2 AST
Tyler Riddell - 18 PTS, 1 RB, 1 AST
Jeremy Holley - 29 PTS, 18 RB, 1 AST
Joe Dempsey - 4 PTS, 2 RB, 4 AST,
Danny Whitacre - 6 PTS, 1 RB, 2 AST
Andrew Konno - 3 PTS, 1 RB, 1 AST
Xavier Bennett - 2 PTS, 9 RB
Matt Morgan - 2 PTS, 4 RB

EC's JV Company Executes "the Comeback"

The Elyria Catholic JV Boys Basketball team hosted Clearview as well Friday evening, and with the absence of head coach Corey Taylor, the JV Boys knew they needed to pull out a victory. The JV Panthers were 0-2 without their head coach leading them, until tonight, when they issued "the Comeback".

At one point in the game, the JV Boys Basketball squad was down 4-14, and went into halftime down 22-14. The EC JV Panthers made their halftime adjustments, and came out pumped to start the second half.

Going on a 6-0 run to start the third quarter out, the JV Boys fixed their rebounding, turnovers, and missing shots issues and took this game into their own hands. Angelo Cruz had 6 points, hitting two 3's in the second half. Ceevan Shelton and Jake Dempsey both had 6 rebounds, Shelton also had 11 points on the night.
EC's JV Company came back after being down by 10 at one point, and improved their record to 12-5 on the season. The JV Boys return to action on Friday, February 17th at the Coliseum against Rocky River.



Elyria Catholic's Official Sports Reporter
Jake Hromada '14

Photos Done By: Mr. Rob Zidek

EC Leaps Back on to Victory Road, Beats North Ridgeville

February 3rd, 2012

Elyria Catholic took Tuesday off, and headed out to North Ridgeville for a WSC match-up against the Rangers on Friday. Elyria Catholic took an early lead and held onto it throughout the game, and at times almost lost it. Ridgeville tied the game here and there, but EC would succumb, and take the game and head right back on victory road.

The Panthers were on a roll in the beginning of the game, keeping North Ridgeville from scoring for just over four minutes into the game. North Ridgeville struggled to find the basket, while the Panthers struggled on the boards which would come back to haunt them. The Rangers found a spark come the second quarter, outscoring EC 13-11. The Panthers were playing a 2-3 zone, which North Ridgeville found loopholes in by moving the ball quickly, hitting their shots, and crashing the boards giving themselves multiple scoring opportunities. The Rangers did tie the ballgame at one point, but EC's Andrew Konno sunk a three pointer to keep EC on a good route. The Panthers went into the locker room on top 26-22 at halftime.

Elyria Catholic came out on an 8-3 run to start out the second half, and ended the third quarter up 10 points.
"We just kept trying to get the ball inside, and not give up some easy baskets on the other end." Coach Kuchta states, "I thought our kids did a great job of listening and doing what they had to do tonight." North Ridgeville went on a little comeback at the end of the 4th quarter, but could only cut the score to 41-44. That's the closest the Ranger would get, and Elyria Catholic would hold on to beat North Ridgeville 56-51.

"My guys worked hard, and we are just trying to build some depth on our team as the season winds down. We feel like we have a lot of depth on the team, and the more experience everyone gets, the better we will be." Coach Kuchta shares, "Our whole game is to play unselfish, and to not care who gets the credit. So I think you see that from our guys."

Elyria Catholic is now 8-9 (6-4 in WSC play) and will take a week off.
"It feels good right now to be 6-4 in the conference." Kuchta explains, "We want to win two more in the conference, and to be 8-4 and get ready for the tournament." The Panthers resume to action on February 14th at the Coliseum to take on the Clearview Clippers at 7:30.

Stats:
Jeremy Holley - 22 PTS, 9 RB, 2 BLKS
Daniel Whitacre - 7 PTS, 2 RB, 1 BLK
Andrew Konno - 11 PTS, 2 RB, 2 AST
Tyler Riddell - 7 PTS, 1 RB, 2 AST
Cory Strasko - 2 PTS, 1 AST
Joe Dempsey - 4 PTS, 2 RB, 3 AST
John Stursa - 3 PTS, 3 RB
Matt Morgan - 6 RB


EC's JV Company Wins Thriller Over North Ridgeville

JV Head Coach Corey Taylor finally changed his game plan from, "To put up points" to "Play hard defense". Very straight forward, and simple.

The JV Boys kept a good lead up until the third quarter. When the EC JV Panthers did not play vintage EC JV Boys defense. When the final seconds came, EC's JV Company pulled off a dramatic buzzer beater to defeat the the North Ridgeville JV Boys 48-46.

It was freshman Ceevan Shelton, who came to the rescue for the JV Boys. Suffering an ankle injury earlier in the game, Shelton sucked up the pain, and came up huge in the ending. It was all tied up 46-46, and a few seconds remaining. The ball was in the hands of D.J. Graham, who saw a wide open Ceevan Shelton under the basket for the easy buzzer beating lay-up.

EC's JV Company will resume action at the Coliseum on February 14th against Clearview High School at 6pm.

Elyria Catholic's Official Sports Reporter
Jake Hromada '14

Final Turnover Costs EC Victory Over Avon

January 27th, 2012

Elyria Catholic welcomed WSC rival Avon High School into the Coliseum on Friday night. The last time these two teams met, the game had your heart racing every second of the 4th quarter. This game was built for the same type of ecstatic feeling, and did it ever live up to its expectation.

The drama in this match-up started after halftime, where EC went into the locker room down 23-29. EC was having issues finishing with their shots in the paint in the first half, and the second half was not much different.
"That was a big thing, Jeremy (Holley) when he didn't finish he was only getting one look at it." Coach Kuchta explained, "We have to get other guys to crash the boards, and if we don't get that one initial shot then it could put us back." M.J. Lotko came up huge in the 4th quarter hitting a 3 pointer to put the Panthers down 40-42, then hit another bucket to tie things up at the 4:45 mark. Danny Whitacre led a fast break and hit a bucket to give EC their first lead of the night 46-44. Avon then hit a 3 pointer to take the lead 47-46.

As the final seconds approached, EC had the ball and wasted time. As the final seconds collapsed, EC turned the ball over to Avon, and the Eagles avenged their loss from the last time these two met, and took the match 47-46. "I give (Avon) a lot of credit, they fought hard, both teams battled, and competed extremely well." Coach Kuchta had to say, "I love that my team fights hard, and we know that we're not going to quit. It was a good basketball game, we just couldn't get the job done at the end."

Elyria Catholic is at North Ridgeville on Friday, February 3rd, 2012. "We want to beat Ridgeville, they're stuggling and we're hoping to have a good game."

EC is now 7-9 (5-4 in WSC play).

Stats:
Jeremy Holley - 12 PTs, 9 RB
Danny Whitacre - 8 PTS, 5 RB, 1 AST
Cory Strasko - 5 PTS, 4 RB, 1 AST
M.J. Lotko - 7 PTS, 2 RB
Tyler Riddell - 5 PTS, 1 RB, 1 AST
Andrew Konno - 6 PTS, 2 RB
Xavier Bennett - 2 PTS,


EC's JV Company Cuts Close One vs. Eagles

Coach Corey Taylor still hasn't changed the game plan for the JV Boys for now three blogs in a row. "To put up points" seems to be working. The JV Panthers won 49-46 over Avon's JV on Friday. The JV Boys stayed with the lead they produced after the 1st quarter. Avon jumped close as the final seconds closed in with two three pointers, but EC pulled through. Angelo Cruz and Ceevan Shelton led the JV Boys with 9 points, and D.J. Graham followed with 8.



EC's JV Company is now 10-5 on the season.


EC's New Kids On The Block Spring In 4th

The big story on the night? Freshman James Tirbaso, who had his first in-game dunk of the night. The dunk also sprung a huge pop in the crowd, and a big motivator for the EC Freshman in the big victory over Avon. EC trailed the whole game up until moments before Tirbaso performed his fast break one-handed dunk. The EC Freshman stuck with Avon all game and fought hard. The Panthers beat the Eagles 34-31. Tirbaso had 10 points, 9 rebounds, and 3 blocks in his performance Friday afternoon. Ray Contreras followed close by with 8 points.

- Jake Hromada '14
Photos by: Mr. Rob Zidek

Midview Extends Streak, Downs EC

January 24th, 2012

What was once a great start to the season, is now a losing record. The Elyria Catholic Basketball program headed out to WSC rival Midview High School for a triple header Tuesday night. With Varsity coming off of a victory over Vermilion last Friday, EC looked to continue their winning spree, and get back to how EC plays basketball. Midview's defense was the superior defense in this match-up, and sending EC back home with a loss.

The 1st quarter for EC was troublesome, with already 6 turnovers to start things off and heading into the second quarter. EC struggled tremendously on offense in the second quarter. Midview's superb defense and full court press kept the Panthers' offense to only 3 points in the second quarter. Cory Strasko led EC in points in half with 4, and Elyria Catholic headed into halftime down 14-28.

The third quarter for the struggling Panther offense was quite interesting. As EC started out on a 9-2 run to start things out, and lowering the deficit to seven at one point, Midview still would not allow EC over the wall. Elyria Catholic had their best quarter all game scoring 18 points, but Midview still controlled the lead 43-32. The fourth quarter Midview still stayed strong, and kept responding to every EC move. Midview extended their winning streak to 11 in a row beating Elyria Catholic 56-46.

Elyria Catholic is now 7-8 (5-3 in WSC play) and will face WSC rival Avon High School Friday 1/27/12 at the Coliseum at Elyria Catholic.

Stats:

Jeremy Holley - 13 PTS, 11 RB, 1 BLK
Cory Strasko - 10 PTS, 2 RB, 1 AST
Tyler Riddell - 6 PTS
Andrew Konno - 3 PTS, 1 RB
Joe Dempsey - 8 PTS,
M.J. Lotko - 2 PTS, 3 RB, 1 BLK
Danny Whitacre - 2 PTS,
John Stursa - 2 PTS

EC was 11-14 from the free throw line (78%)


EC's JV Company Loses to Midview in 4th

The EC JV Boys dropped a tough loss to the JV Midview team 54-45. EC had the game in their hands up until the 4th quarter, where they only made 3-13 shots. The JV Panther Boys were 11-11 from the free throw line, and were led by D.J. Graham who had 12 points, and Angelo Cruz who had 9 points.

EC's JV Company is now 9-6 on the season, and will face off against Avon's JV Boys at Elyria Catholic starting at 6pm.


EC's New Kids on the Block Comeback After 16 Point Deficit

The EC Freshman Boys came back after being down by 16 points at one point to Midview's Freshman team. The EC Freshman came out on fire in the 4th quarter and sped ahead of Midview by two points with seconds remaining. Midview missed their final shot and the EC Freshman Boys won 46-44.

Jake Hromada '14
Photos By: Mr. Rob Zidek

Elyria Takes Rivalry Into Own Hands

January 21st, 2012

Elyria Catholic went into the new and improved Elyria High Gymnasium to play cross-town rival Elyria High School in a non-conference match-up. With EC coming off a big victory over Vermilion, and Elyria High losing to Garfield Heights in overtime on Friday, momentum was on Elyria Catholic's side. EC stuck with the Pioneers through the first quarter, but turnovers once again haunted EC's game, and E-High shot lights out all game to put the Panthers back down to .500.

Despite the severe full court pressure, which caused many turnovers for EC, the Panthers still stuck tight with E-High up until halftime. EC went into the locker room at half with 16 turnovers and down 37-30. Sophomore Jeremy Holley scored half of EC's 30 points scoring 15 and having 7 rebounds. M.J. Lotko made 3 of 3 shots in the paint going into half.

The second half did not side with the Panthers at all, as the Pioneers came out on a 15-2 run at the start of the third quarter. Holley, who had 15 coming into the second half, sat out most of the second half and only scored 4 points. Elyria's explosive third quarter put them up 62-45 over EC. Once the fourth quarter hit, Elyria High's frenzied offense did not change. EC did however cut their turnovers down to 8, but that did not matter at the final buzzer. Elyria High proved their dominance 85-61.

Elyria Catholic is now 7-7 (5-2 in WSC) and will play WSC foe Midview at Midview High School at 7:30pm.


EC's JV Company Falls to Elyria

The JV Panther boys fell short to the Pioneers 44-33 on Saturday night. EC's JV Boys led after the 1st quarter 7-6, but taking unnecessary shots hurt them the most in the long run. The JV Panthers slowly lost grip of their lead, and could not hang on. EC's JV Company had their winning streak snapped, and is now 9-5 on the season.


Freshman Fight, Fall in Overtime To Elyria

The Freshman boys came closest out of all EC basketball teams to beat cross-town rival Elyria Saturday night. The game got even more intense when Freshman Justice Falasco hit a buzzer beating three pointer to tie the game up in the 4th quarter and send the battle into overtime. D.J Graham took control of the offense in OT, but the Freshman slowly lost grip of their lead and Elyria was suddenly down by one. EC fouled the Pioneers, and Elyria missed both foul shots, EC fouled again, and Elyria missed both foul shots, but got the rebound this time around. The Pioneers put up three shots before finally hitting a buzzer beating lay-up to beat the Freshman 55-54.