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NORTH OLMSTED, OH – It was a big night for the visiting Elyria Catholic Panthers as they saw 3 players reach double digits in a dominant 70-49 victory. North Olmsted hung tough for awhile but eventually the toll of 3 games in 4 days, took over as the Panthers pulled away in the third quarter after entering the second half already up 11.
Elyria Catholic Panthers Jacob Radcliffe and AJ Defazio led them with 13 each while Teddy Budinger had 12 and Tyler Wilson put in 8. Purvis Smallwood scored 9, with all of those coming in the second half as they pulled away with the game. Brady Engle and Sean O’Donnell each had 5 while Matisse Williams had 3 and Zavior Castillo 2.
The Eagles were a bit short handed, but again, managed to keep it interesting for a bit. They were led by Naoki Sato with 13 while Juelz Santiago had 11. Dylan Susan had 9 and Matthew Bloomfield put in 7. Donovan Martin had 6 while Nick Tepper had 4. Austin Limpert also saw valuable minutes tonight as well.
Santiago started the game with a quick three pointer for the Eagles, and we were off to the races. The Panthers countered with six straight points before a three from Susan tied it at 6 all. Susan then hit another 3 to give the Eagles a brief lead before a Defazio three tied it back up at 9. The teams went back and forth for a bit, and we entered the final minute of the quarter, tied at 16-16. It was then that Teddy Buddinger nailed back to back three pointers within seconds, to close out the quarter with the Panthers on top 22-16.
A 6-2 run by the Panthers to start the second half gave them their first double digit lead of the game at 28-18. The Eagles made a mini run to get it to within 8 before a Radcliffe three at the buzzer gave the Panthers a 36-25 lead at the break.
Any chances of an Eagle comeback were snuffed out quickly in the second half as the Panthers went on a 14-2 run to start the third quarter, putting the game away for good with a 50-27 lead. It was Radcliffe with 7 more during that stretch. The quarter would end with an Eagle highlight as Bloomfield made a runner to score at the buzzer. However, by that point the Panthers led 58-36 and were in firm control.
The Eagles won the fourth quarter 13-12, but fell 70-49 on the night. A shout out to Sato who led all fourth quarter scorers with 6 in those 8 minutes.
Also, shout out and congratulations to Teddy Budinger, who is now the second great Budinger I’ve covered in my career, next to Arizona legend Chase Budinger.
