Caleb Schillace became the eighth Keystone player to score 1,000 points in his career Tuesday in a 44-42 loss to Patriot Athletic Conference rival Clearview.

Schillace, a four-year starter, reached the milestone on a spectacular alley-oop dunk early in the game. Play was stopped and Keystone coach Greg Morgan presented Schillace with the ball.

“It was an extremely moving moment,” Schillace said of getting the game ball. “I never expected to see all the fans giving me a standing ovation. I almost lost my composure and teared up.”

Anyone who knows Schillace also knows he’d give back that moment in exchange for a win over the Clippers. That team-first attitude was instilled in him at a young age by his first coach, Jim Kolar.

“Coach Kolar was our coach from second grade through sixth grade,” Schillace said. “He always told us that regardless of who scores what, at the end of the game it was a team effort. I don’t want people to remember this season because of what I might have done. I want people to remember this year for what our team does.

“We want to win our conference. We want to win a district title and have a deep run in the playoffs. Those are the memories I want people to have.”
Despite his athletic abilities on the basketball court, Schillace is headed to the University of Toledo on a baseball scholarship. Schillace, a pitcher for the Wildcats, will be out to earn his fourth varsity letter in that sport this spring.

“It is an indication of his shear athletic ability and competiveness that he has been able to excel at both sports,” Morgan said. “As a freshman, the world was Caleb’s limit as far as basketball was concerned. If he had decided to pursue basketball instead of baseball, he would be preparing for a Division I college career in basketball instead of baseball.

“In fact, if he played football, he would be at the top of that game as well.”

Morgan was appreciative that Clearview coach John Szalay was gracious enough to allow the game to be stopped so that Schillace could have his moment. Not that the schools don’t know the procedure by now.

Keystone’s all-time leading scorer, Brett Bartlett (1,791 points), reached the 1,000-point mark against the Clippers. In turn, Szalay’s son Chad hit the mark against the Wildcats.

So what does the longtime Clearview coach think of Schillace?

“Caleb has always been one of the most respected players by coaches in our league,” Szalay said. “He has always been a player that you would love to have on your side. He plays on both ends of the floor and always puts the success of the team over his own numbers.

“I have nothing but respect and admiration for Caleb and the Keystone program that he represents so well.”

With 1,018 points, Schillace is tied for sixth on the all-time Keystone list with D.J. Shaw and one point ahead of Mike Conrad. With seven games left in the regular season, Schillace has a chance to move into fourth ahead of Shawn Botos (1,068) and Carl Knapp (1,115). Bruce Campbell (1,345), Clay Dill (1,467) and Bartlett are likely out of reach.

Schillace is the Keystone career rebounding leader with 737 and should hit the 800 mark before the end of the season.

So close, no comfort

What’s the difference between being 5-7 and 11-1?

If you’re the Avon Lake Shoremen, the difference is 21 points. The Shoremen’s 50-45 loss to Brecksville marked their sixth straight game, and eighth overall, to be decided by five points or fewer. The Shoremen’s record in those games is 2-6.

“I can’t deny that it’s frustrating,” said Shoremen senior Eric Stuczynski, who had 12 points against Brecksville. “I think we’re good enough to win these games but we just aren’t doing the things we need to do.”

Free throws have been a source of frustration for Avon Lake, which was shooting just 54 percent on the season entering the Brecksville game. Against the Bees they hit 13 of 17 free throws but struggled from the field (14-of-46).

However, even when they’re playing well, the Shoremen haven’t exactly had Lady Luck on their side. A 45-43 loss to Avon was the result of a buzzer-beating basket. Against North Olmsted, Avon Lake fought back from a 21-point hole only to fall 67-64 on yet another buzzer-beater.

“I have to believe that everything happens for a reason,” Avon Lake coach Eric Smith said. “As a coach, you have to preach that good things are going to happen. I thought we defended the play against North Olmsted perfectly, it just happened to go in. They key for us right now is to shake off the loss and get right back at it in practice.”

Smith says the attitude of his players is good despite the recent stretch.

“I give my guys a lot of credit,” Smith said. “They could very easily be hanging their heads but they’re not doing that. They come to practice and put in the hard work. I’ve seen other teams just check out after a couple of games like that.

“Our kids are moving forward and looking ahead.”

At 2-4 in the Southwestern Conference, the Shoremen are running out of time to make a run at the title. However, with rematches looming against Westlake (a 61-57 loss) and Brecksville, the Shoremen are still holding out hope.

“I keep telling the guys to make the last game of the season (Brecksville) count,” Smith said. “We’re going to try and play our way back into it. The struggles that we’ve gone through are going to make us tougher down the stretch and in the tournament.”

Old and new

Twenty former players and four former coaches came out Saturday night for the pregame fundraiser and Elyria High/Elyria West Recognition night.

The senior member of the group was Lee Johnson of the Class of 1961. Johnson, a member of the Elyria state semifinal team, was the Pioneers’ first All-Ohio player.

According to Elyria coach Brett Larrick, whose team defeated Elyria Catholic 83-61 in the Battle for Elyria, the inaugural event was a success.

“I think our guys got a lot out of it and I think our ‘old guard’ enjoyed being around our guys,” Larrick said. “It was great to see our Elyria pride come back and share exactly how much passion everyone has for the Red and White.

“It’s definitely something we want to continue and build off of for the future.”

Player of the week

Hunter Skolnicki, Brookside

• Year: Senior
• Position: Guard
• Last week: Scored 11 points, dished out three assists and grabbed three rebounds in a 48-34 win over Firelands to help the Cardinals snap a three-game losing streak. Four nights later, he hit 9 of 17 shots from the field and went 6-of-6 from the line while scoring a career-high 27 points in an 83-66 win over Lutheran West.
• Bio: The fourth-year letterman is averaging 15.7 points, 2.9 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 2.1 steals. He also plays shortstop on the baseball team and will earn his fourth varsity letter this spring. He also plays baseball for the Avon Lake American Legion during the summer. He enjoys playing video games and basketball with his friends. His favorite basketball memory is hitting the game-winner against Keystone at home as a sophomore. His favorite NBA team is the Lakers and his favorite player is Kobe Bryant.
• Future plans: He’s undecided on a college and a major.
• Parents: Brian and Kay

Contact Hans Schneider at hanshans68@gmail.com by Wednesday at 8 a.m. to nominate players of the week or to submit items for this notebook.

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