VERMILION — With four guys 6-foot-4 or taller averaging six or more rebounds a game, it’s a virtual given that Vermilion will control the backboards.
With eight guys of various sizes missing 15 of 25 foul shots, it’s just as likely that Avon won’t control the scoreboard.
It didn’t.
The Sailors turned in a 47-point first half, then cruised to a 72-51 victory over the Eagles in a West Shore Conference game. With the victory, Vermilion remains a game behind first-place North Ridgeville in the tight WSC race. The teams collide in a crucial game for both next Friday.
The Sailors outrebounded Avon 43-34, with 15 offensive boards. They held a 20-10 edge on the boards when they carried a 47-33 lead into the break.
“The last three games we’ve had more than 20 offensive rebounds every game,” Vermilion coach Kurt Habermehl said. “The kids are really making it a point to crash the boards, and with our size that’s something we should be really good at. I thought the kids did a good job of attacking the whole game.”
The Sailors’ work on the boards impressed Avon coach Jim Baker.
“They really hurt us on the boards tonight with their size,” he said. “We didn’t do a very good job of boxing them out. We worked on it during the week, but when we got here tonight, we just didn’t do a very good job.
“Our free throw shooting was very poor,” Baker said. “A lot of other things allowed it to snowball. We’ve been playing some pretty good defense, but we kind of got away from that tonight. It’s hard to guard a putback, but we were allowing too much penetration. We just didn’t play a very good basketball game tonight, and I’ll credit Vermilion for that.”
Actually, the Eagles got off to a fast start. They put together a 10-0 run, with 3-pointers by Marquis Harrell and Mike Carge, for a 10-5 lead. But the Sailors caught them at 15, took a 16-15 lead with 1:40 left in the first quarter and never trailed again.
Vermilion opened the second period with a 7-0 run, which included putbacks by Nick Farley and Time Clark. The Sailors did it again — including Farley’s putback and a slam-dunk three-point play by Matt Liljegren — just before halftime. Avon (8-7, 5-5 WSC) accommodated the outburst with five straight turnovers. By then, Vermilion was in control 47-33.
“We talked about going inside to our big kids, because we thought we had a little bit of an advantage inside,” said Habermehl, whose team improved to 9-4, 7-2 in the WSC. “I give a lot of credit to our perimeter players, because they did a heck of a job of getting the ball inside.”
As for the Sailors’ rebounders, 6-7 Derek Hoebing and 6-4 Tim Clark are averaging seven rebounds a game, and 6-5 Liljegren and 6-4 Farley are averaging six-plus.
“It’s kind of spread out,” Habermehl said. “Nobody’s averaging in double figures, but they all do a nice job of controlling the boards.”
Farley, who scored 20 points the first half, finished with a game-high 22. Clark scored 16 and Liljegren 13. Harrell’s 20 points led Avon. Steve Isaac added 12.

Vermilion 72, Avon 51

AVON (51): Kyle Gregory 1-0-2, Garrett Gronowski 2-2-6, Erik Stump 0-0-0, Matt Logan 0-0-0, Ryan O’Rourke 0-0-0, Marquis Harrell 7-3-20, Mike Carge 1-3-6, Andrew Wimmer 2-0-5, John Harrison 0-0-0, Josh Bediako 0-0-0, Steve Isaac 5-2-12. Totals: 18-10-51.
VERMILION (76): Kurt Innes 3-0-6, Paul Kishman 0-0-0, Kyle Herchler 0-0-0, Nick Clason 0-0-0, Mike Virgin 0-0-0, Matt Liljegren 6-1-13, Derek Barbato 2-0-4, Justin Turner 1-1-3, Tim Clark 5-6-16, Nick Farley 8-3-22, Derek Hoebing 3-2-8. Totals: 28-13-72.
Avon    17  26     9   9 – 51
Vermilion    20  27   10 15 – 72
3-point goals: Avon 5-22 (Harrell 3, Carge, Wimmer); Vermilion 3-7 (Farley 3). Field goals: Avon 18-62 (29 percent); Vermilion 28-68 (41 percent). Free throws: Avon 10-25; Vermilion 13-24. Rebounds: Avon 34; Vermilion 43. Turnovers: Avon 20; Vermilion 17. Fouled out: Wimmer.
Junior varsity: Avon, 54-43.

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