Five Takeaways: Shaker Heights vs Elyria

Michael Trivisonno

January 25, 2020 @ 12:17 PM

Shaker Heights and Elyria traded baskets early and after the first quarter, Elyria held on to a 15-15 lead. Then, there was no looking back for the Raiders as they outscored Elyria 16-5 in the second quarter to take a 32-20 lead heading into halftime. A combination of transition buckets and turnovers led to Shaker to get the upper hand as the game went on. From there, players like<a href="https://prephoops.com/player/shammah-scott/"> Shammah Scott</a>, <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/danny-young-jr/">Danny Young Jr</a>. and <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/dakota-cochran/">Dakota Cochran</a> led the way for Shaker as their lead never got back down to single digits. Shaker would go on to defeat Elyria by a final score of 73-53. Scott led the way with a game-high 22 and two rebounds. Young was a playmaker on both ends of the floor, finishing with 14 points, three assists and four steals. The win improves the Shaker record to 12-2 and 7-1 in conference play. Below are five takeaways from Friday night's game. 1. Shammah Scott shines for Shaker From the opening tip, you can tell senior point guard Shammah Scott was on a mission. He displayed crafty ball-handling skills and fought through contact most of the night, getting to the basket basically whenever he wanted to. He has a quick first step in his game and that led to many drives inside the paint, finding the open player and scoring when needed to. The unsigned point guard scored a game-high 22 points and is swiftly becoming a well-known name within Northeast Ohio. 2. Shaker builds off aggressive defense It was a slow start to the game for the Raiders, but a first-quarter adjustment got the team in the right direction heading into halftime. Head coach Danny Young explained after the game he wanted his team to trap more and force Elyria into difficult situations early on in the game. As a result, the second quarter was the worst quarter for Elyria all night, scoring just five points. Shaker's stellar guard play forced traps in the corner, creating turnovers and easy transition baskets the other way. Power Forward Eric Mudd also made things difficult for the Pioneers inside the paint due to his large frame and his physicality as well. 3. Elyria can’t get past scoring droughts It was really a game of runs for Shaker Heights Friday night. In the final four minutes of the first half, Shaker outscored Elyria 11-1 to take a 31-20 lead heading into halftime. Once the Raiders started to create full-court pressure on Elyria's point guards, it was the turning point of the game. To start the second half, Shaker continued to build on that momentum, outscoring the Pioneers 11-2, eventually pushing their lead to 42-22 at the time. Their lead got as high as 30 points in the second half, and Elyria had no answer for the pressure Shaker maintained. 4. Tyren Lee tough to contain in the paint for Elyria Tyren Lee, the 6-foot-6 senior forward for Elyria, held his own inside the paint throughout the night. Due to his advantage down low with his size, Lee was able to be aggressive, fighting for loose balls and collecting a handful of offensive rebounds to make his presence felt. He looks very comfortable inside the paint on both ends of the floor and causes opposing offenses to adjust their shot selections at the rim. Lee finished with 11 points and was difficult to contain when given the ball down low. 5. The backcourt of Danny Young Jr. and Shammah Scott may be emerging as one of the top backcourts in Northeast Ohio Not only did these two players lead Shaker in scoring, both were just as important on the defensive end during the win. The rapport these two players have built on the court is showing at full strength, with both guards not afraid to take command and make plays happen on the offensive end. These players were able to create open looks for themselves, as well as finding the open man when attacking the basket. Not only do they provide the spark on the offensive end, both play a pivotal part creating buckets on the defensive side of the ball as well. Young and Scott have both matured immensely throughout the season thus far and it has helped lead Shaker to a 12-2 record.