December 23rd 2011
The Elyria Catholic Boys Basketball team took the trip over their Christmas break to Amherst High School in a non-conference match-up to look to extend their winning streak to seven against the winless Comets on Friday. With Amherst putting severe pressure on the ball, and EC struggling to pound the ball inside the paint, this one once again came down to the final minutes of the game; which EC is no stranger to.
With the game just seconds in, Amherst put great amounts of pressure on the ball at all times, which EC struggled with Friday night.
"We tried to get the ball to the middle, and tried to attack the pressure." Coach Kuchta explained, "At the beginning we didn't attack the pressure at all, and I think that's what hurt us." EC had five turnovers in the first quarter, and fell behind to Amherst 21-12 at the end of the quarter. The second quarter EC started to spring to life, being 7-9 from the free throw line and outscoring the Comets 15-10. Junior Danny Whitacre was 4-4 from the free throw line in the first half, and going 5-6 overall in the game. The Panthers went into the locker room down by four to Amherst, 31-27.
The start of the third quarter begun, and a comeback for EC was looming. The Panthers got around the stellar Comet pressure, and EC was 4-10 on their shots, and only had two turnovers. EC went into the fourth quarter with only a one point lead over Amherst, 44-43. The only flaw The Panthers had, was they committed five fouls in the third quarter.
EC is no stranger to last minute finishes, but this time around, The Panthers couldn't pull the plug. Despite three-pointers from Andrew Konno and Tyler Riddell to lower the point deficit, the Comets made their foul shots, and confirmed their first victory of the season beating EC 66-59.
"We're going to learn that we can't take teams for granted, and that any team on our schedule can beat us." Coach Kuchta said when asked what his team can learn from this loss, "Our mental preparation has to be a lot better. I really think that the North Ridgeville game and this game we weren't ready mentally, and that's on me as a coach to get them ready."
The Panthers are now 6-2 (4-0 in WSC) and will resume play on 1/3/12 against Brookside in a non-conference match at Brookside High School starting at 7:30pm.
Stats
Cory Strasko - 6 PTS, 5 RB
Tyler Riddell - 11 PTS, 4 RB, 2 AST
Daniel Whitacre - 9 PTS, 9 RB, 1 BLK
Jeremy Holley - 20 PTS, 14 RB
Matt Morgan - 3 PTS, 2 RB
Andrew Konno - 5 PTS, 1 RB
MJ Lotko - 5 PTS, 1 RB
EC was 11-16 from the free throw line (68%).
-Whitare 5-6
-Strasko 2-3
-Morgan 1-2
-Holley 2-3
-Lotko 1-2
The Elyria Catholic JV Boys Basketball team played the JV Comets as well in an unbelievable victory for the JV Panthers. The drama started in the 4th quarter when Freshman DJ Graham got an offensive rebound and a bucket to put the JV Panthers down by one point with 1:39 left in the fourth quarter. Another Amherst possession failed to put up points, and EC took advantage of it. DJ Graham put in another basket to put his team on top 44-43. Come the closing seconds Amherst missed two shots to confirm the victory for the EC JV Boys. DJ Graham led the team with 20 PTS.
The JV Boys are 6-2 (3-1 in WSC) and will resume their season on 1/3/12 in a non-conference match against the Brookside JV Boys at 6pm at Brookside High School.
Happy Holidays!
Official Elyria Catholic Sports Reporter
Jake Hromada '14
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