All good things must come to an end.
Avon Lake finished 19-4 with the SWC conference title and one of the best seasons in program history. Unfortunately for the Shoremen, their tournament run ended before it could start in a Division I sectional final home loss to Cleveland Heights on Feb. 25, 71-64.
Both of these teams were top 10 seeds entering the tournament, by far the biggest matchup in Ohio before the district tournament rolled around. The No. 9 seeded Tigers advance to the Copley District semifinals at 7 p.m. on March 2 against No. 7 Brunswick.
“You have two teams that should be playing in the district championship or in a regional playing each other on a Saturday night in a sectional championship game,” Avon Lake coach Eric Smith said. “I love those guys, 19-3 in the regular season, 19-4 overall conference champs.”
Avon Lake jumped to a 10-3 lead at the end of the first quarter with both teams trying to find a rhythm on offense. In the second quarter, Cleveland Heights certainly did in putting up 26 points. Jaeden Lawson got cooking for the Tigers behind the 3-point arc, knocking down four triples in the second quarter alone.
All game long, Lawson and Avon Lake’s Matthew Stuewe were going back-and-forth, and Stuewe scored eight points in the second quarter of his own. The Tigers started the quarter on a 9-3 run to cut it to a one-point game, but Stuewe and Isaac Richardson scored to extend the lead. Trailing 17-14, Lawson hit a transition to tie it. He later hit another transition 3-pointer to give Heights its first game of the lead, 22-21.
Collin Stewart knocked down a 3 of his own to give the lead back to the Shoremen, but Lawson answered right back. Stuewe scored back-to-back baskets to put Avon Lake back up by three, but Cleveland Heights scored the final four points of the half with putbacks from Lawson and Rayvelle Duncan to go back up one.
The Shoremen’s start to the second half put them in a hole that they couldn’t climb out of. Cleveland Heights began the third quarter with 10 straight points to go up 39-28. AL finally was able to get some baskets, but it couldn’t get stops for the rest of the third quarter to get back into it.
Peyton Lerch ended the run with a basket, but Jay’Quan Stubbs answered back. Lerch scored again, but a pair of free throws from Lawson canceled it out. Stuewe scored on consecutive baskets, but so did Cleveland Heights. Trailing by 13, the Shoremen finally strung together more than two points in a row with four free throws from Stuewe to end the third quarter.
The game felt out of reach for the Shoremen, but they didn’t go away quietly. This veteran team answered the bell again after a little more back-and-forth scoring, as Lerch knocked down a 3 to cut it to 59-52. Lawson was big time from 3-point range in this game, and he answered again with another triple to bring the lead back up to 10.
“We had a good first quarter, they made a run in the second quarter,” Smith said. “They made a little run early in the third quarter, and we told our guys that it wasn’t over. That’s we do all year long, we just keep battling. It was a one or two-possession game with two minutes to go, they just made a couple more shots than we did.”
Stuewe continued to try and will his team back in it, making a layup and more free throws to cut it to 62-56, the closest it had been since Cleveland Heights’ big run to start the half.
“We just needed to go fast and that’s really what I was trying to do when I was going to the bucket,” Stuewe said. “I was able to hit shooters, I was able to draw a couple of fouls and make the free throws as well. That really got us going at the end.”
With the ball down by six, Avon Lake just couldn’t get that basket to get over the hump. Lerch shot a 3 that went in and out, Lerch and Richardson both had quality layup looks that didn’t go. Off of a turnover, Cleveland Heights scored with a slam dunk by Lawson. An and-one from Stuewe cut it to five with only 1:42 left, keeping the rally alive.
Leading by five, Braylyn Irby shot an ill-advised 3-pointer, but he drained it to go up by eight. Derek McCrum cut it down to six again, and Avon Lake had more chances to cut it down to three or four, but couldn’t buy a bucket late.
“Peyton had 3 that rattled in and out, I don’t know how that didn’t go in,” Smith said. “We had another one at the rim, Keegan Rudduck had a wide-open look there. If one of those go in, it’s a different ball game, but that’s basketball. The beauty of the game of basketball is that there’s only team in each division that ends the season the way they wanted it to end. I’m just disappointed for them that it’s ending a little bit earlier than it should.”
Lawson had a game-high 30 points for Cleveland Heights, and Stuewe finished with 28 for Avon Lake. Lerch was the only other Shoremen to score in double figures with 12.
“I loved playing with these guys,” Stuewe said. “These coaches were amazing all season, every single day was fun coming out and playing with these guys. It’s going to suck not coming out on Monday and playing another game with them.”
