By Staff
ELYRIA – When you make 12 three-pointers you expect to win and that is what the Elyria Christian boys did on Friday when they hosting Herington and pounded the visitors to the tune of a 44-point, 65-21 victory.
Now 12-2 for the season, the Eagles begin the final two weeks of the regular season by hosting Goessel on Tuesday before heading to Little River on Friday.
“Homecoming week always bring a different excitement to the game,” noted Eagle head coach Zach Goodrich. “You never really know how the team is going to respond after all the fun from the pep rally and spirit week. We have been focusing on staying locked in this second half of the season and I felt we did that with the Herington game.”
Elyria jumped all over Herington, taking a commanding 16-point, 18-2 lead by the end of the first quarter and then extending that advantage out to 34 points at 42-8 going into the halftime break. From the opening whistle to the final whistle of the final two quarters the Eagles stayed focus and cruised in for the final 44-point win.
Two team stats that stick out were the 21 assists dished out by the Eagles on 26 made baskets from the field along with forcing Herington into making 29 turnovers of which 23 came on steals by Elyria’s quick hand defense.
Speaking of the offense, coach Goodrich pointed out, “We are sharing the ball at a high level right now and we believe the boys are starting to buy into that value of the game. We had 21 assists on 26 made field goals and for the season I believe that is our highest mark. That is the best part of the game is setting up a teammate for a high percentage shot.”
Caleb Laney and James Schott kept the offense rolling as they passed out seven and four assists, respectively.
Ty Romero led the Eagles in scoring with 23 points while Alex Robertson scored 15 and Johnny Unruh hit for 12. Both Romero and Robertson connected on five three-pointers as the Eagles connected on 12 for the game. Robertson also led the team in rebounds with five and Caleb Laney recorded the most steals with six.
Concluding his reflections on the blowout win, Goodrich said, “Ty (Romero), Johnny (Unruh), and Alex (Robertson) provided steady offense for us. All three shot better than 45% from the three-point line and that stems from finding the great shot over a good shot. We know we have a tough stretch of games coming up and all of them will provide a learning experience for us. This time of the season, you have to learn fast between each possession and quarters. I believe we are getting better at it but there is plenty of opportunity to improve. We will have to be ready for our games next week and make sure we play with sound principles.”
ELYRIA CHRISTIAN EAGLES hosting Herington
SCORING: EAGLES: ELYRIA CHRISTIAN EAGLES > 18-24-14-9 = 65; Herington > 2-6-7-6 = 21.
TEAM STATS: ELYRIA CHRISTIAN EAGLES > 2-FGs – 14/20; 3-PTs – 12/26; FTs – 1/2; AST – 21; REBs – 15; TO – 6; STLs – 23; BLKs – 0; FLs – 10. Herington > 2-FGs – 7/15; 3-PTs – 2/9; FTs – 1/3; AST – 6; REBs – 21; TO – 29; STLs – 4; BLKs – 0; FLs – 5.
ELYRIA CHRISTIAN EAGLES INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS: Scoring > Ty Romero – 23; Alex Robertson – 15; Johnny Unruh – 12; James Schott – 6; Axton Fields – 4; Silas Redenbaugh – 3; Caleb Laney -2. 3-Pointers Made > Romer0, A. Robertson – 5; Unruh – 2. Assists > Laney – 7; Schott – 4; A. Robertson – 3; Romero, Unruh – 2; Redenbaugh, Gavin Robertson, Blake Robertson – 1. Rebounds > Romero – 5; A. Robertson – 3; Unruh, Schott, Fields, Redenbaugh, G. Robertson – 1. Steals > Laney – 6; Unruh, Schott – 4; Romero, Redenbaugh – 3; G. Robertson – 2; A. Robertson – 1.
(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)