Hard to stop … Cam Elwer blows past three helpless Waynesfield-Goshen defenders on his way to 28 points in a 65-22 district semifinal victory at Elida Fieldhouse. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Cam Elwer scores 28 points and moves up the Ohio career scoring chart much to the delight of the Blue Jays’ mobile fan base.
Elida, OH – The Delphos St. John’s faithful began pressing their noses against the glass doors Thursday at Elida Fieldhouse more than an hour before tipoff. They arrive early every game. Gotta get a good seat and avoid the late-arriving traffic.
Arrayed in blue and gold, they come from every generation to see their beloved unbeaten and No. 1 in Division VII Blue Jays’ quest for a state title.
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And they come to see Cam Elwer shoot. That’s a given.
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On Thursday night, in a routine district semifinal against an outmanned, outgunned, outeverythinged Waynesfield-Goshen, they came to see history. The Jays junkies accounted for far more than half of the crowd that filled a great portion of the 2,900-seat Northwest Ohio hoops hall.
Elwer needed 27 points to move ahead of LeBron James into eighth place on the state career scoring list. He scored 28. And more importantly to the locker room, the Blue Jays flew past Waynesfield 65-22 and into Saturday night’s district final.
Elwer’s career total sits at 2,648, two ahead of King James, the most decorated basketball player Ohio can claim.
“He’s my GOAT, the best player of all time,” said Elwer, who is signed to play Division I ball at Furman. “To pass him, it’s truly being blessed to have that opportunity. God has blessed me with so many things. I can’t thank him enough.”
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After a rather pedestrian and misfiring nine-point first half, Elwer and his teammates heated up in the third quarter. The scoreboard tracks individual scoring, so as Elwer approached 20 points, heads turned left to see the new number every time he scored.
He scored 17 points in the quarter. He tied James with his fifth 3-pointer with four seconds left. His fans rose in unison and in full throat.
St. John’s Jackson Wiechart lays in two points here, but when Cam Elwer was open for the points he needed to surpass LeBron James he gladly settled for the assist.
With a running clock in the fourth quarter, it didn’t take Elwer long to score the basket everyone came to see. On a two-on-one fast break, Jackson Wiechart dribbled in from the left and slipped a bounce pass past the defender for an assist and the easy two that separated St. John’s GOAT from Elwer’s GOAT.
“I knew Cam was two points away, so I had to get him the ball,” Wiechart said. “I wanted to throw a lob, but I didn’t want to turn the ball over.”
“Credit to Jackson,” Cam Elwer said. “He’s such an unselfish player, and so is our whole team. He had a layup, too, but then he passed it off to me and I super appreciated him.”
Head coach Aaron Elwer immediately called a timeout to let the crowd enjoy the moment. The St. John’s side – the entire gym actually – gave their favorite senior a long standing ovation.
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“We have the greatest community behind our back all year,” Cam Elwer said. “They’re kind of like the sixth man.”
In the timeout, Aaron Elwer addressed the accomplishment.
“First he gave credit to Jackson for being unselfish and passing it,” Cam Elwer said. “And then he said, ‘Yeah, you passed LeBron James.’ And we all got a good hoot out of that one.”
Andrew Elwer collects two of his 9 points. After the game he said about his brother: “Not many people get to play with a great player like him.”
All the Elwers, Wiechart and the rest of the team couldn’t contain their smiles after the game. Yes, they had won, which was the main goal. But to see a son, brother and teammate mentioned in the same breath as LeBron James is a feeling that can’t be duplicated.
“It’s a cool thing to talk about,” Aaron Elwer said. “It’s obviously been out there, and not something we address, obviously, with the team, or even at our house as a family. But to eclipse some of the names that he’s eclipsed is really, really cool. So to be mentioned like that, and to have that out there, is really cool for our program and really cool for him as an individual.”
Andrew Elwer is a junior guard and his brother’s running mate. Twice he made consecutive threes with his brother and scored nine points. But like everyone else in attendance, he appreciates watching his brother play.
“Cameron’s such a good player, and it comes with accomplishments,” Andrew Elwer said. “I’m just grateful to be his teammate and his brother. It’s so cool. Not many people get to play with a great player like him.
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“And me, Cam and my brother, we all love LeBron. He’s our favorite player. Cam passing him is so cool for him and our family.”
Amid the LeBron chase, a basketball game was played. But it took a while for the Blue Jays to look their vintage best or anything close to it.
Early back-to-back threes by the Elwer brothers promised a typical St. John’s shooting clinic. Then a strange thing happened. The rim got a lot more action than usual. The Blue Jays shot 35.7% from the field and 18.8% (3 for 16) from three-point range. Cam Elwer made 3 of 7 shots, 1 of 4 from three and 2 of 4 from the foul line.
Tyce McClain scores a pair of his nine points off the bench, converting a turnover into a transition layup.
But the Blue Jays still led 28-14 at halftime despite some stagnant moments and lack of ball movement. Aaron Elwer credited 12-12 Waynesfield-Goshen, a team that hasn’t had a winning season since 2005, with its game plan to play a mix of triangle-and-two, two-three zone and man-to-man.
“Obviously not a great, great offensive start for us,” he said. “They were tough and scrappy and made things difficult. Halftime came at a good time and take a deep breath and take in the environment of a different place. And our guys handled the third quarter really well and that’s kind of who we’ve been for the majority of the season.”
The Elwer brothers repeated their consecutive 3-pointers early in the third, Keaton Elwer had a 39-second blink of two 3-pointers and a fast-break layup, and the crowd started coming to its feet. And they could taste that the LeBron chase was about to conclude.
The Blue Jays shot 66.7% in the second half, made 8 of 14 3-point shots and finished 49% overall and 36.7% from three. Not their best night, but considering the start not bad.
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“We were a little on our heels because the ball wasn’t going in the rim like it typically does, but what a great response by our guys and that’s the way it should be,” Aaron Elwer said. “Our guys are mature, they’re experienced, and they handle a little adversity pretty well. We’ll be better Saturday because of it.”
The Blue Jays face Arcadia (16-8), a 52-40 winner over Pandora-Gilboa, at 7 p.m. Saturday at Elida Fieldhouse in a district final.
If the Blue Jays struggle to shoot again in the first half, they will lean on what they leaned on Thursday.
“We understand basketball is a hard game and the shots aren’t always going to fall, but defense and effort travels,” Cam Elwer said. “And that’s what we’ve been preaching through this tournament run. Be tough and execute the game plan and everything will fall into place.”
That’s the Blue Jays’ recipe for a hoped-for state title. Win on Saturday, then four more for state-championship immortality.
And along the way the fans can watch the scoreboard and track their GOAT’s progress. Next on the list are Cincinnati Woodward’s Paul McMillan IV at 2,658 and Cambridge’s Geno Ford at 2,681.
If you want to see more history Saturday, come early.
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