Cleveland Heights- The Cleveland Heights Tigers (6-3) hosted the Lorain Titans (7-2) in a Lake Erie League showdown Tuesday night. The Titans entered the contest with one of the best record in conference at an undefeated 3-0 record proving that they belonged as one of the best teams this year
The first quarter started in the favor of the Titans. They smacked the Tigers in the mouth from the tip-off showing their physicality and sheer will of scoring inside the paint. They held the Tigers to 5 total points. Junior guard Jai'den Guerra-Howard outscored the Tigers by his lonesomeness with 7 points. Lorain finished the quarter one with a 14-5 lead.
The Tigers bounced back in the second quarter. Senior guard Rayvelle Duncan as well as standout senior guard Shemarion Hardy led the comeback for Cleveland Heights. Duncan attacked the passing lane for an easy steal before finding Hardy to make a contested three- pointer that brought the crowd to their feet. Hardy would miss the free throw for the four point play before Duncan put back the easy layup to bring the Tigers within two. Lorain's fan base was not please with a missed loose ball travel on senior tiger gusrd Rondelle Rollard. The duo of Duncan and Hardy combined for 11 of the Tigers 22 second quarter points to help gain a 27-26 lead going into half.
The third quarter fell into the favor of Cleveland Heights. Six different Tigers scored in the quarter helping the team out score Lorain 17-13. Senior guard Christian Ruiz put the Titans on his back scoring six points in the quarter and being one of three players for Lorain to score a bucket the entire second half. The Tigers tightened of their defense making it hard for just about any Lorain player to find their shot. The Tigers would finish the quarter with a tight 44-39 lead.
In the final quarter, Junior guard Asiah Kielian gave Ruiz some much needed help with 9 much needed points. Ruiz added 8 more to combine with 17. Lawson of the Tigers knocked down two crucial three's when the Tigers were within one to help keep the pressure on Lorain to walk away with a 63-56 final score at Cappaletti Court.
Kielian finished as the leading scorer for the Titans with 21 while Duncan finished with 16 points for the Tigers. Both teams have an identical record of 7-3 overall with a 3-1 LEL conference record.
I caught up with Cleveland Heights coach J.R. Bremer after the game.
This recap is brought to you by Brunswick Auto Mart
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