Olmsted Falls starts fast, claims 60-53 Div. I district title victory over Lorain

ELYRIA, Ohio -- A showdown of the top two seeds ended with a mild upset in the Div. I Elyria district boys basketball tournament, as second-seeded Olmsted Falls claimed a 60-53 victory over Lorain Saturday night.

The Titans came into the game boasting a 35.5-point average margin of victory in their first two games. Because of Lorain’s dominance, the question before tipoff was Olmsted Falls’ experienced lineup could keep up with Lorain’s high-powered offense.

But the Bulldogs, led by head coach Chris DeLisio, couldn’t have started the game any better as they took a 21-8 edge after the first quarter and never trailed the rest of the way. Seniors Michael Fritz, Gavin Dietrich and Ryan Higginbotham led the way. Fritz scored 17 points with 10 coming in the second half.

“Michael’s been an assassin in the second half of games this year," said DeLisio. “He loves those moments and I love when he has the ball in those moments.”

Lorain made some runs. One midway through the fourth quarter trimmed the Bulldogs' lead from 13 points to just two with 5:45 remaining. The key contributors were Devon Grant and Taevon Pierre-Louis, who dropped a combined 38 points and pulled down 14 rebounds.

“[Pierre-Louis] and Grant were our main (defensive) focuses," said DeLisio. “[Pierre-Louis] is a man amongst boys out here. ... I thought our zone did a pretty good job keeping the ball away from him.”

Those two Titans might have completed the comeback if not for the tenacity and effort put forth by Bulldogs big men Higgenbotham and Dietrich. Dietrich finished with seven points and nine rebounds while Higgenbotham scored 13 points to compliment his nine rebounds.

Olmstead Falls will move onto the regional semifinal at the University of Akron on Thursday to face the winner of the Barberton district. Tip off is 7 p.m.

Zach Harley is a freelance writer from Parma, Ohio.