Elyria vs. Maple Heights boys basketball: Pioneers unable to keep pace, fall, 75-60

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Elyria's Taylor Blanton shoots a 3-pointer against a Maple Heights defender. (Shane Pabon - For The Morning Journal)

Elyria was challenged early and often against Maple Heights at the NEO Youth Elite Christmas Classic on Dec. 22. The Pioneers fell behind by double digits at the end of the first quarter.

They ate into the Mustangs’ lead several times. But Maple Heights pushed the tempo back in its favor and rebuilt the lead.

Maple Heights went on to take a 75-60 victory as Elyria fell to 3-2.

The Pioneers early on had a hard time finding an answer to Kenyon Giles, who had all 18 of his points in the first half. While they held him scoreless the rest of the way, the Mustangs turned to the boards for extra looks.

The Mustangs took advantage of their second and third chances to build their lead. Elyria coach Brett Larrick said his team needed to be more aggressive on the boards.

“We wanted to control their guards but couldn’t,” Larrick said. “We like to play with a fast tempo and we weren’t able to contain and do what we wanted to on defense. They had us on our heels offensively and we had about eight turnovers in the first quarter. They’re downhill while we’re sideways really helps their attack and doesn’t help us with our game plan.”

PHOTOS: Elyria vs. Maple Heights boys basketball, Dec. 22, 2023

The Pioneers shot their way back into the game several times. Taylor Blanton led with 22 points on six 3-pointers.

Every time Elyria chipped into the lead, Maple Heights responded. The Mustangs had King Young (17 points), Aaron Scales (14 points) and Kalin Allen (12 points) all in double figures.

Larrick said against a team as multifaceted as Maple Heights, Elyria needs to match the opponent's intensity.

"We have to find a way to defend and rebound," Larrick said. "They had almost 75 points in three quarters and that isn't good enough defensively. We had a couple spurts but whenever we did the right thing on defense, we would turn it back over. We hit a couple shots and they would take bad shots but get the offensive rebound. We can't take advantage of those runs while being undisciplined."

Elyria also had Jayden Crutcher finish in double figures with 11 points.

The Pioneers embark on a trip to Columbus for their next game, against Bishop Ready on Dec. 29.

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