High school boys basketball notes: Elyria Catholic turns Lorain loss into long-term gain

It was a game of David and Goliath proportions when the Elyria Catholic Panthers, a Division III school, faced the Lorain Titans, a D-I school, on Dec. 8. Elyria Catholic relinquished a 12-point first quarter lead and eventually tumbled to an 83-69 loss.

The loss was difficult to endure, Elyria Catholic head coach Phil Kuchta said, but fast forward 2 1/2 weeks, and the game against Lorain was a great learning curve. The Panthers have won three straight and are 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the Great Lakes Conference.

“We just want to compete against the best and be the best team we can be,” Kuchta said. “They’re (Lorain) very similar to a lot of teams in our district, which is one reason why we had them on our schedule. We used it as a measuring stick as far as where we are at and what we need to get better at and it was a good test for us. Our guys gained some confidence from it and we feel like we can play with anybody on our schedule.

“We have a senior-laden group and kids who really work hard at the game of basketball and who love to play. We just try to go out and have fun.”

The Panthers are part of the Garfield Heights District, which includes reigning D-III state champion Villa Angela-St. Joseph and Beachwood, which is unbeaten with a win over St. Edward.

An example of senior leadership was displayed in the Panthers’ 77-75 win against Clearview on Dec. 18. Despite sub-par play for the majority of the game – Elyria Catholic turned the ball over 20 times – the Panthers persevered.

“Jake Kuchta is obviously a great leader, he works so hard,” Kuchta said. “Kevin Kelley, same thing. He doesn’t always comes up with the big games in the box score but is a great leader on the floor and is a great extension of the coaching staff to go along with our other seniors Brian Duffield and Darin Guice. They just all show a lot of great leadership. Even when things aren’t going well, they find a way to get the job done.”

Jake Kuchta leads the team in scoring at 17.4 points per game and averages seven rebounds and 3.1 steals per game. Still, the performance of Guice has to be considered a catalyst for the Panthers’ early success this season.

Guice has more than doubled his scoring average from a year ago and has increased his averages in assists and in rebounds. Last year, Guice averaged 6.9 points and is currently averaging 16.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and a team-leading five assists per game.

“He never backs down from anyone,” Kuckta said. “He’s not that big, he’s only 5-8. But he’s got electrifying quickness. He’s a game-changer. I think that we’ve learned with him to go along with our other guys, it gives us a chance to compete with anyone in the state of Ohio.

“He’s a matchup nightmare for the other team and a lot of times he scores a lot of points over two and three people and no matter what you do it’s really tough to keep him in front. He’s developing, he’s learning how to find people when he does draw that double team. He’s learning how to get people open shots, he’s learning to play better defense … we believe he can be one of the most elite point guards in the area.”

As the team heads into 2016 and the long, difficult stretch of the season, the Panthers were given 11 days off in between games with their next game on Dec. 29 against Warrensville Heights. Phil Kuchta said that the layoff period will be a nice time for the players to recuperate physically and mentally.

“It’s been a nice break since Friday (Dec. 18). We’re using this to get better physically. A couple of guys are banged up and it’s nice to just get them some rest,” Kuchta said. “It’s also a time mentally to recharge the batteries, it has been a grueling month of December, and we want to finish it off right with a win against Warrensville (Heights) and we know it’s going to be a big game and get ready for the second part of the season, the next phase in January.

“I think us being in a bunch of close games so far has really helped us … it gives us information that helps us move forward .”

And-1

Tis the season and holiday tournaments are upon us.

* Rocky River will take part in the Sylvania Northview Tournament Dec. 28-29 with their first game at 6 p.m. on Dec. 28.

* Vermilion will be playing at the Wellington Gossman Holiday Classic with their game starting at 1 p.m.

* The Elyria Holiday Classic should be a great tournament with Elyria, Lorain, Sandusky and St. John’s Jesuit participating. The tournament is Dec. 29-30. Elyria and Lorain will face off in the 8 p.m. game on Dec. 29.