For the Southview Saints, it simply became a question of pride.
The Saints were giving up 74 points a game to opponents. The numbers were unsightly. While the calendar hadn’t yet reached Christmas, the mood of the team was down.
After four games, Southview was by all indications a defensive laughingstock. Bedford had put up 94 points on the Saints and Oberlin followed with 82 — both of them blowout losses.
Second-year coach Andy Bastock proposed his team scrap its early season emphasis on sharing the basketball and return to the most elemental form of the game — slowing down your opponent.
“Over the summer, our biggest issue had been learning to play together as a team and not as individuals,” said Bastock. “But we focused on that so much that we started slacking off on defense. So we really had to change things.”
Southview’s about-face has resulted in a startling statistic: since that Game 4 loss to Oberlin on Dec. 15, the Saints have given up just 49.1 points per game. Over their last nine games, the Saints have held opponents under 40 percent from the field and gone 8-1 in that stretch.
The Saints now sit tied for second place in the Lake Erie League’s Erie Division and hold the tie-breaker over Warrensville Heights thanks to a Jan. 11 victory over the Tigers.
The rebuilding of Southview’s basketball program is well under way. According to Bastock, when the Saints won Midview’s DiFranco Classic, it marked the first time in school history the Saints had won a holiday tournament.
For a team that went 7-14 just one year ago, that’s a significant step in the right direction.
“Kids like winning — it changes everything,” said Bastock. “They’ve fed off this energy and it shows we’re really making strides. That’s exciting.”

Conference crunch

A strange year in area basketball just got a lot stranger. Last Friday’s dizzying combination of upsets, beatdowns and head-turners has resulted in a four-way tie in the Southwestern Conference.
As of this morning, North Olmsted, Avon Lake, Olmsted Falls and Westlake sit knotted atop the rough-and-tumble SWC with identical 5-2 records.
“In my 19 years as a head coach, I’ve never seen that happen at the midpoint of a season,” said Olmsted Falls coach Pat Donahue.
Over the next three weeks, all four of these teams will face each other for one more round to determine the conference champion.

Not over yet

Until Elyria knocked off North Ridgeville on Tuesday, the Rangers had put together an impressive stretch, reeling off six straight victories — five of which came against West Shore Conference opponents.
But don’t be fooled.
The WSC remains wide open. Four teams are within two games of first place — a stunning indication at how level the playing field remains in the conference.
“This is just one of those years,” said Vermilion coach Kurt Habermehl. “One loss won’t win this conference. It’ll be close to the end.”

Taking their lumps

It was not a misprint in last Saturday’s Chronicle which showed a box score of Avon Lake trouncing Brookside 73-13.
It brings up an interesting question. The Cardinals, who sit at 1-13, have struggled to compete with opponents in their own league, the Patriot Athletic Conference. What benefit, then, would Brookside have in playing a Division I opponent? And what benefit, for that matter, would Avon Lake have to beat up on a smaller squad?
True, both teams reside in Lorain County, but it’s hardly the stuff of rivalries. And given the struggles of Brookside’s program over the last five years, it made little sense for either team to hammer out a two-year scheduling agreement. It is doubtful, after this year’s results (along with a blowout Avon Lake win a year ago), that the two will renew their contract.
Contact Pete Alpern at 329-7135 or palpern@chroniclet.com. 

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Pat Pellerite, forward, Olmsted Falls

YEAR: Senior
LAST WEEK: The 6-foot-4 Pellerite scored 23 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and three steals, while dishing four assists in last Friday’s thumping of Southwestern Conference archrival North Olmsted. His performance was even more notable due to the fact that it happened despite a sprained ligament in his right knee.
BIO: The Bulldogs have clawed to a four-way tie in the SWC on the back of Pellerite, who has averaged 20.3 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Over the last year, he has undergone the transformation from secondary scorer — actually the third option on a powerhouse team — to the Bulldogs’ offensive and leadership foundation. Pellerite says he’s learning the balance between carrying the scoring load, while putting his teammates in the best position to contribute. He is weighing interest in a host of Ohio Athletic Conference schools, including Baldwin-Wallace, Mount Union and Capital. Pellerite would like to study business in college.

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