Lorain Titans fall short to Bedford Bearcats

By PAUL BARNEY
pbarney@MorningJournal.com

LORAIN — Andy Bastock doesn’t want to keep saying how close his team got.

For the second time in as many games, though, the Lorain coach has had to do just that.

After suffering a seven-point loss to Lakewood to open the season, the Titans came up short once again, this time a 62-59 setback to Bedford on Friday night in Lake Erie League action.

Andre Phillips missed a wide-open, game-tying 3 with less than 30 seconds left that allowed the Bearcats to ice the game by making just enough free throws down the stretch.

“I think I rushed it a little bit because I was caught off guard that he fell back,” said Phillips, whose shot missed the rim wide left. “He fell down so I just took the open shot.”

Phillips finished with a game-high 19 points but would’ve like 22 as Lorain dropped to 0-2 on the season.

The Titans struggled to hold onto the ball early, committing nine of their 19 turnovers in the first quarter despite trailing just 13-10.

“We have a young team and some inexperienced guards, so you’re going to expect to get some turnovers at different times,” Bastock said. “That’s always a point of emphasis for us is that we want to limit those turnovers, so that’s an ongoing process.”

Lorain began the second quarter on a 6-2 run to take a 16-15 lead after putback from Devon Andrews (15 points).

Tied at 17 after a Shamar Jeffrey layup, the Bearcats closed the half on a 13-7 run to lead 28-24 at the break. Lorain shot just 40 percent in the first half (8 of 20)

Down 34-31, the Titans tied it on a 3-pointer from Demon Hisle. Seconds after, though, Bedford regained the lead when Chris Carter knocked down a 3 of his own.

“We hit that big 3 and had a lot of momentum, but they came back on the other end and hit a 3 right after that,” Bastock said. “Some of their guys just went unconscious for a small stretch there where they hit some deep 3s.”

The Bearcats were a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc in the third, including one apiece from Aaron Beidleman Miles Meredith, who each scored five points in the quarter as Bedford led 43-42.

That’s as close as the Titans would get, however, as the Bearcats pulled even further every time Lorain closed the gap.

The Titans trailed 49-47 before the Bearcats went on a mini 6-2 run, capped off with a floater from Lamont Rhodes (10 points).

After a Bedford turnover, a Phillips layup made it 57-55 before Beidleman split a pair of free throws, forcing Bastock to call a timeout with 32 seconds left in the game.

“We were running a play to get the ball inside,” Bastock said. “I didn’t think we needed a 3 at that point unless one presented itself. It kind of presented itself in such a surprising manner that I don’t think (Phillips) was necessarily ready to shoot in rhythm.”

The missed shot was Lorain’s ninth from long distance as it was 0 of 6 in the fourth quarter.

Lorain will look for its first win next Friday against Shaw, still looking to get over that hump.

“There are a lot of new kids on varsity and they’re starting to gel together as a team and understand what each other can do best,” Bastock said. “I think we went a long way in working our offense a little bit better tonight than against Lakewood.”

Bedford 62, Lorain 59

Lake Erie League

BEDFORD — Aaron Beidleman 4-3 12, Mike Smith 2-1 6, Carl Jeffrey 3-0 8, Chris Carter 2-2 7, Dawud Fisher-Grace 3-0 6, Lamont Rhodes 5-0 10, Miles Meredith 3-2 9, Shamar Jeffrey 2-0 4. TOTALS 24-8 62.

LORAIN — Eddie Williamson 1-0 2, Andre Phillips 7-5 19, Devon Andrews 7-1 15, Rashod Berry 0-4 4, Sherman Saunders 2-0 4, Louis Cheers 2-6 10, Dalandrious Henderson 1-0 2, Demon Hisle 1-0 3. TOTALS 21-16 59.

3-POINT GOALS — B: Beidleman, Smith, C. Jeffrey (2), Carter, Meredith; L: Hisle.

Score By Quarters

Bedford 13 15 15 19 — 62

Lorain (0-2) 10 14 18 17 — 59

Team Statistics

Field Goals — Bedford 24 of 48 (50 percent), Lorain 21 of 45 (47 percent)

Free Throws — B 8 of 18 (44 percent), L 16 of 23 (70 percent).

Rebounds — B 23, L 25.

Turnovers — B 18, L 19.

J.V. – Bedford, 57-52.

@PaulBarney18

Last Updated: 12/8/2012 12:26:42 PM EST