Willoughby Breaks School Record as Shoremen Crush Olmsted Falls

Sometimes a week off, means the rust comes back.

In the case of Avon Lake, now 9-0 on the year, there was no let down in their game against Olmsted Falls.

Not only did the Shoremen cruise to a 94-54 victory, but in the process they saw history in the making, as Ronnie Willoughby set a new school record for points scored in a game with his 46, breaking Dave Reichlin’s mark of 45 set in 2007 against Midpark. 

For Willoughby, it was a gift of sorts, as he promised his mother, who was celebrating her 40th birthday, a big night. 

Boy did she get that, and then some.

Willoughby was so good, he shot 17-of-22 from the field, including making 5-of-7 from 3-point range. He also had nine rebounds on the night.

Had he not been pulled with nearly seven minutes left in the fourth quarter after scoring eight consecutive points, most off of breakaways, he might have left the evening with even more points. 

"She came tonight and I promised my dad I would have 25 points for her, so I guess 46 does it for her," Willoughby said with a huge smile on his face.  "Previously I had scored 10 or 12 points in the first quarter, then only have a few points in the fourth, so I really didn't look up there that much."

Asked about Willoughby's performance, Avon Lake coach Eric Smith, who also coached Reichlin when he set the previous mark, said it was a team effort.

 "Everything he got came out of the flow of what we do," he said. “It wasn't that we were running a ton of sets and trying to get him shots and load up on Ronnie. The other thing is he had four or five assists, he's unselfish and going to find the open man, but to our guys credit they found him too."

 Things were a little tight in the first quarter as the Shoremen held just a 25-13 advantage, but the second spelled the end of the Bulldogs, as the Shoremen's defense stiffened up and held them to just seven points.

 “I thought it was a great effort for us from start to finish defensively for us and when we play at that tempo we are really good, “We gave up 53 tonight but it was a different style, but I think we can get better defensively. But if we can get this effort on a daily effort, we can get better and our kids are buying into it now".

Ironically, Dan Rechlin, who is the former record holder’s brother, had a nice night himself, dishing out 17 points.

The Shoremen get back into action on Tuesday night in the backyard brawl against Avon. 

"They are going to be a great game," Willoughby said. "We need a little bit more work on defense, so we have to work on that, some trapping and work on easy layups, but it should be a tough game, they are really good."

Avon Lake 94, Olmsted Falls 54

AVON LAKE (94): Collin Holmes 2-3-7, Jay Seaton 1-0-2, Nick Stephenson 1-0-3, Dan Reichlin 8-1-17, Ronnie Willoughby 17-7-46, Logan Dilik 1-0-2,  Eric Stuczynski 1-1-3, Hunter Stephens 1-1-3, Zach Scott 1-2-5, Brandon Murway 1-0-2, Andrew Bohan 2-0-4. Totals 36-15-94.

OLMSTED FALLS (54): Jared Kurz 3-0-8, Eric Meehan 4-2-10,Steve Johnson 4-0-11, Mike Atkinson 1-1-3, Ryan Humenik 1-0-2, Kenny Hanna 3-3-10, Brandon Friedrich 3-3-9,  Adam Asadorian 0-1-1. Totals 19-10-54.

Avon Lake                  25            20            27            22            -           94

Olmsted Falls                13            7              20            14            -           54