WESTLAKE — Avon put the hardest game of the postseason — from a mental standpoint, anyway — in the victory column.

“That’s the toughest, getting that first one,” Avon coach Jim Baker said after seeing his team defeat Keystone 53-43 in a Division II sectional opener Wednesday at Westlake High School.

“I thought we played tight early on, so it was good to get this one out of the way.”

The Eagles loosened things up in the second quarter and put the defensive clamps on Keystone over a 5:49 stretch between the second and third quarters, then withstood the Wildcats’ comeback attempt in the fourth.

Avon (12-9) will play Vermilion on Saturday night at 6. Keystone finished its season with an 11-9 record.

The Wildcats led after one period as Avon went 4-of-13 from the field.

“We played sloppy, shooting and on the boards,” said Avon’s R.J. Kauffman, who led all scorers with 21 points. “We had too many turnovers early, but we came out with a win so we’re all happy.”

Things got moving for the Eagles in the second quarter. Kauffman’s basket off an offensive rebound with 3:49 to go gave Avon the lead it would never lose.

The score was 20-17 with 1:52 remaining before halftime. Then Keystone got cold while the Eagles scored 11 unanswered points to push the lead to 14. A basket at 4:03 of the third by Caleb Shillace, who led the Wildcats with 20 points, ended the dry spell.

“Sometimes we’re slacking (on defense),” Kauffman said. “Sometimes we are down and all playing together. That was what happened then.”

“It probably allowed us to withstand some mistakes late that I wasn’t too pleased with,” Baker said. “We did well enough to get it done against a good team.”

Keystone cut the margin to eight points at the end of the third. Avon got it back up to 43-31 at 5:49 remaining before the Wildcats came within six points with 1:57 to go. The score was 49-43 at 1:12 to play when Keystone stopped scoring.

Keystone coach Greg Morgan did not see the scoring drought before and after halftime as the dagger in his team’s heart.

“I look more at the beginning of the game,” Morgan said. “We missed a lot of uncontested layups. It set the tone, and that was the way our offense went all night.

“Our effort, our defense, our rebounding all enabled us to win, and (Avon) gave us ample opportunity by missing free throws,” Morgan added, referring to the Eagles hitting 12 of 20 chances at the foul line in the fourth quarter. “That’s the way the season has gone. They work hard, and they have nothing to show for it sometimes.”
Kauffman led Avon with four assists. Shillace led all rebounders with 10.

Avon 53, Keystone 43

KEYSTONE (43): Jimmy Reid 0-0-0, Caleb Shillace 8-3-20, Calab Wagner 2-2-6, Sam Bailosky 4-1-10, Corry Sprouse 1-0-2, Ryan Clement 2-0-5, Bryan Trego 0-0-0, Cody Dill 0-0-0, Clay Conrad 0-0-0, Brandyn Sittinger 0-0-0. Totals 17-6-43.

AVON (53): R.J. Kauffman 6-8-21, Brandon Mahaffey 2-2-6, Marvin Coleman 1-3-5, Matt Trnian 1-1-3, Claude Gray 4-1-9, Mike Maloney 0-1-1, Mike Mingo 2-0-6, Connor Friss 1-0-2, Alex Isaac 0-0-0. Totals 17-16-53.

Keystone 11 6 11 15 — 43

Avon 9 14 13 17 — 53

Three-point goals: Keystone 3-of-17 (Clement, Bailosky, Shillace), Avon 3-of-9 (Mingo 2, Kauffman). Field goal shooting: Keystone 17-of-52 (32.7 percent), Avon 17-of-41 (41.5 percent). Free throw shooting: Keystone 6-of-12 (50 percent), Avon 16-of-27 (59.3 percent). Rebounds: Keystone 32 (Shillace 10), Avon 24 (Gray 8). Turnovers: Keystone 21, Avon 16. Total fouls: Keystone 16, Avon 14. Fouled out: Reid.

Contact Steve Byrne at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

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