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Elyria, OH- The Holy Name Elyria Catholic rivalry produced another gem tonight as the Green Wave took down the Panthers 70-69 in a back-and-forth affair.
The first quarter began with Holy Name winning the opening tip. Both sides played impressive defense and forced bad shots and misses. The Green Wave struck first blood, but Elyria Catholic would quickly match. The first quarter felt as if the Panthers matched every basket their opponents made. EC was able to put together buckets and get out to a 5-point lead. However, Holy Name kept things close. In the dying seconds of the first, the Panthers led 17-13. However, Adam Humenik was fouled as he attempted a triple. This sent him to the line where he sank all three of his shots. This cut the Elyria Catholic advantage to 17-16 heading into the second.
Things remained close throughout the second. Both teams traded leads and matched the other’s offensive exploits. The Panthers had seven players get on the scoresheet in this frame. Freshman AJ Defazio led the way with 6 points in this frame which took his tally to 10 for the half. Jacob Radcliffe took his first half tally up to 5 points as he drilled a three. Purvie Smallwood, Ted Budinger, Zavior Castillo, Brady Engle, and Tyler Wilson all added field goals. Drew Styers returned to his usual form following his 14-point outing against Garfield Heights as he would score 10 of Holy Name’s 20 points this quarter. This gave him 14 points heading into the locker room. Aaron Riley added all 5 of his points in this quarter. Aiden Butler and Max Bollin rounded out the scoring for HN. At the end of the first half, the Panthers led the Green Wave 38-36.
Both teams adjusted heading into the third quarter. For EC, they improved upon their floor spacing which gave them better looks. For HN, the shot selection improved dramatically. Radcliffe and Budinger both knocked down triples for the Panthers while Defazio, Castillo, and Engle all added buckets of their own. Butler took his tally up to 4 points this quarter, but it was Bollin who led the way for the Green Wave. He posted 8 points in the third, taking his game tally up to 14. Humenik added his final 6 points while Styers added 2. Heading into the final frame, Holy Name trailed 56-54.
Nerves were at an all-time high heading into the fourth quarter. EC quickly jumped out to a 6-point lead as they led 64-58. Styers knocked down a midrange jumper to cut the Panther led to 4. Holy Name took this opportunity to call a timeout. Styers would take his tally up to 24 points on the night soon after. Elyria Catholic was able to respond after the Green Wave took the lead down the line. The score was 69-68 with less than 30 seconds to play. HN bobbled the ball, but it hit out off of Wilson’s shoe. This gave the Green Wave a chance to set up a play. Bollin was given the shot and the faith his teammates put in him paid off. With his bucket, Holy Name led 70-69. After a few fouls, Elyria Catholic had one last inbound play to make some magic happen. Smallwood would miss his first shot which led to him grabbing the rebound. Lady luck would side with HN as he missed the putback as time expired. Holy Name did just enough to squeak out the 70-69 victory.
Holy Name is now 8-6 on the season with another GLC clash Friday night against Normandy. Elyria Catholic falls to 4-7 on the year with a trip out to North Olmsted up next.
Elyria Catholic Key Players
#0 Jacob Radcliffe: 16 Points
#1 AJ Defazio: 19 Points
#32 Tyler Wilson: 11 Points
Holy Name Key Players
#3 Drew Styers: 24 Points
#4 Max Bollin: 20 Points (Including the Game Winning Shot)
#12 Adam Humenik: 15 Points
Player of the Game: Max Bollin
