Dec. 6, a football rivalry made its way to the basketball court for Avon and Olmsted Falls
In a Southwestern Conference doubleheader with the boys and girls basketball teams, Danielle Cameron scored her 1,000th point in a 49-27 Bulldogs’ win, and the Avon boys held off an Olmsted Falls rally bid to achieve a 59-55 victory.
Avon coach Mike Fitch knew Olmsted Falls would make a run, as his Eagles held a 31-14 halftime lead. The run waited until Nathan Farley hit a 3-point shot at the start of the second half.
Olmsted Falls went on a 24-7 run to make it a 41-38 game to start the fourth quarter. The run was capped off with an and-1 3-point shot from Nate Ryan. The lead was eventually cut closer to 43-42 early in the fourth quarter.
“We talked about that third quarter in the locker room. I said that (Olmsted Falls) is going to go on the run. I think that we made some mistakes offensively that allowed them to go on that run,” Fitch said.
Avon turned things around to go on a 6-0 run, which extended its lead to 49-42. From that point on, it was too much for Olmsted Falls to overcome.
“We stayed together as a team. There were a couple of good runs. I’m sure it rattled us. In the end, we got a win. A conference win is tough,” Avon guard Zane Austin said.
Both teams engaged in a physical battle that was seen often on the football field. The Eagles utilized its size and physicality to hold Olmsted Falls scoreless for six minutes in the second quarter, as it went on a 12-2 run.
“I think our pressure on defense was really good,” Austin said. “There were a lot of good boards. Sam (Toniolo) and Farley, I think they did a good job doing that. I think that we pushed the ball in transition well to get some good looks. I think that we were clicking in the first half.”
Nathan Farley led the Eagles with 17 points. After he scored his final basket he limped off the court and did not return in the fourth quarter. Austin scored 16 points.
Olmsted Falls’ leading scorer was Ryan Raich, who scored 17 points. He scored seven points in the third quarter.
Avon boys improved to 6-2 and remained undefeated with a 3-0 SWC record to keep pace with Berea-Midpark (6-2, 3-0 in SWC).
Olmsted Falls won its first game of the season against Buckeye in its previous match. After the Avon game, the Bulldogs dropped to 1-7 (0-3 in SWC).
In the girls game, Cameron only needed the first half to score her 1,000th point, as she needed 10 to earn the milestone.
As much as people around Cameron tried to keep the accomplishment a secret, the information leaked to Cameron.
Halfway through the second quarter, Cameron missed a shot, but grabbed the offensive rebound to score her 10th point for 1,000.
“It was all about effort,” she said. “Coach Jordan (Eaton) told us to never give up on a play and if you could get an offensive rebound go for it. I feel like everyone on the team does that really well. … I was just crashing the boards and I got it.”
She was swarmed by teammates, which reminded her of when former teammate Paige Kohler reached 1,000 points.
“I knew that (my teammates) were going to tackle me, because they did it to Paige (Kohler) last year,” Cameron said. “I knew what they were going to do. I guess I wasn’t physically prepared, because there was a lot more people coming at me than I was expecting.”
Olmsted Falls made shots at an exceptional clip to jump out to a 12-1 lead at the start. Cameron scored 13 points, but Jesse Simon and Jessica Wolanin each scored nine points.
The Bulldogs pushed their Southwestern Conference winning streak to 51 games and improved to 8-2 (5-0 in SWC), as Avon dropped to 7-5 (1-4 in SWC).
