ELYRIA — To Elyria Catholic’s credit, the Panthers hung tough for most of the game but ultimately could not overcome their 25 turnovers and the quickness of visiting Cleveland Central Catholic on Friday night at the Coliseum.
The Ironmen held off a late threat by Elyria Catholic to win the North Coast League game 60-51.
Despite no outside threat at all — the Panthers made no
3-pointers in just two attempts — Elyria Catholic was able to stay close most of the game with a number of layups after sharp passing inside to catch the Ironmen napping.
CCC (7-5, 3-3) used its quickness, along with eight EC turnovers, to jump out to a 21-12 lead in the first quarter. The Ironmen led the entire game after starting with a 3-pointer just 40 seconds into the opening period. But the Panthers rallied in the second quarter to narrow the gap to just six at the intermission, 30-24.
In the third quarter, the Ironmen forged a 12-point lead,
40-28, with 3:05 to go. In the fourth, though, the Panthers (4-9, 1-5) again rallied and were down just six points,
51-45, with 3:10 remaining. But they never could come up with a run to make it closer.
Elyria Catholic had 25 turnovers in the game to just nine for CCC and also hurt itself by hitting only 15 of 25 free throw attempts.
The Ironmen hurt themselves, too, shooting just 34 percent from the field and
17-of-29 at the line.
“They were missing some shots, but we couldn’t take advantage at the end,” Elyria Catholic coach Alan Januzzi said. “We’re not getting blown away in our losses, but just not getting the big goal in key situations. If we can just execute a little better, we could be coming up with some wins. The kids play hard.”
CCC coach Kevin Noch wasn’t happy with his team’s poor shooting, but admitted, “It’s hard to win on the road. We just weren’t mentally ready for this game. Still, we played great defense and had some balanced scoring, which was good. We’re a young team with a freshman in the starting lineup. He’s been great and did well tonight.”
Freshman Anton Grady,
6-foot-7, scored 10 points for the Ironmen, including two
3-pointers.
Contact Jerry Rombach at 329-7137 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.  

Cle. Cent. Catholic 60, Elyria Catholic 51
CCC (60): Louis Hinson 7-5-19, Brandon Campbell 3-4-11, Tra’Vaughn Moore 3-4-10, Anton Grady 4-0-10, Chall Montgomery 2-1-5, Evan Russell 1-0-2, Derrick Bufford 0-2-2, Earl Locklear 0-1-1. Totals 20-17-60.
EC (51): Kevin Fentner 5-9-19, Paul Kubuski 5-2-12, Joe Fitch 3-3-9, Ryan Taylor 2-0-4, Josh Russ 2-0-4, Joe Januzzi 1-0-2, Adam Kirsch 0-1-1, Cody Schuster 0-0-0, Spencer Roule 0-0-0. Totals 18-15-61.
CCC                 21 9 11 19 —  60
EC                    12 12 8 19 — 51
Three-point goals: CCC 3 of 6 (Grady 2, Campbell), EC 0 of 2; Field goals: CCC 20 of 58 (34 percent), EC 18 of 40 (45 percent); Free throws: CCC 17 of 29, EC 15 of 25; Rebounds: CCC 43 (Hinson 9), EC 37 (Kubuski 8); Turnovers: CCC 9, EC 25; Fouls: CCC 21, EC 24 (Fitch fouled out).
Junior varsity: EC 42, CCC 39.

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