Cam Elwer was just 2 of 6 from three-point range, but spent his day attacking the rim for points and free throw opportunities. He finished with a game-high 28 points. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Sonny Fulks)
Delphos won the Division VII basketball title Saturday in familiar style. Cameron Elwer scored 28 points, and when he didn’t score his buddies were right there to lend a hand. Blue Jays capture first title in 24 years, 56-47, over Kalida.
Dayton, OH – An hour before tipoff of the OHSAA Division VII championship game Saturday Delphos St. John coach Aaron Elwer stood outside his locker room door at UD Arena quietly munching on a apple.
An apple a day keeps disaster away?
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“It’s the only thing I can put in my stomach right now,” Elwer answered. “I didn’t have a very restful night.”
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Such is the pressure that comes with attempting to make history, in St. John’s case the first high school basketball title since 2002 when they beat Russia for the title.
And in Elwer’s case, he was around for that title with then coach Brett Norris, who coincidentally was coaching Hilliard Bradley this weekend in the Division I Final Four to be determined on Sunday.
And of course, should Elwer win Saturday over long-shot Kalida High School (16-12), he would join the likes of Norris (2002) and legendary Bob Arnzen, who won the state title in 1983.
So, would an apple a day keep the pressure at bay?
“I was really OK as soon as the game started,” Elwer would later admit. And why wouldn’t he be?
Another Elwer would make his impact felt…Easton Elwer’s two three-pointers in the first quarter eased the tension of playing the title game.
Delphos St. John, at 28-0, was the most significant favorite of any of the 28 teams featured in this year’s Final Four (times seven), with Mr. Ohio Basketball runner-up, Cameron Elwer, and the most efficient scoring lineup in Ohio high school basketball.
St. John had outscored opponents coming into the tournament by a margin of 2,136 to 1,362, and Elwer was recognized as being as much of a sure thing as you can write in the scorebook, averaging nearly 30 points per game – in the top six of all-time Ohio high school scorers.
Two hours later Elwer, Sr. was holding a much shinier apple, and that of the Delphos community’s desire following their convincing 56-47 physical win over Kalida, a game in which Cam Elwer concluded his high school career with 28 points. And yes, that long-awaited trophy that would have made both Arnzen and Norris smile.
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“History was made today,” said Elwer, Sr. following the game. “What a great game, and two storied traditions that know each other very well. It was a tough, tightly-contested game with neither team giving up. This was the best of northwest Ohio basketball, a great environment to compete in. I’m extremely proud, and what a great day to be a Blue Jay.”
It was physical, of course…it’s the State Tournament. “We wanted Cam to know we were around. We weren’t going to let him cut through the lane and play in space.” – Kalida coach Ryan Stechschulte
Elwer expected competition, and Kalida gave it to him, back and forth throughout the first quarter, clinging defensively to Cameron Elwer as if eternal life depended upon it. And in a basketball sense, it did.
“We wanted Cam to know that we were around,” said Kalida coach Ryan Stechschulte. “We’re weren’t going to let him cut freely through the lane and play in space. So physicality is a huge part of what we do.”
But as Delphos had done all year, when teams singled out Cam, he simply found another player named Elwer to pass to…and quickly Easton Elwer hit back-to-back three pointers to put the Blue Jays out to a confident 19-12 lead. Only Kalida’s Owen Grime could salvage at least the last moment of the opening quarter, hitting a buzzer-beater three of his own to cut the Delphos lead to 19-15.
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Still obsessive with defending against Elwer in the second quarter, Delphos again turned to an alternative scoring source immediately, with Tyce McClain scorching the net for a three-pointer, while Elwer was beating Owen Grime and teammate guard Logan Kerner off the dribble to get to the rim for points, or free throw attempts. Recognizing the threat at the foul line, the Kalida student section started the chant “free throw merchant”, directed at Elwer, who finished the first half having hit five of five from the line.
More importantly, for the game Elwer tucked his three-point pride in his bag of tricks and continued to attack the rim, getting to the line 16 times, and hitting 14 of his 16 opportunities (87.5%). Further supporting the cause in the second quarter, Andrew Elwer would can a three-pointer just before halftime, expanding the lead to 11 points, and that’s how the half ended after another Cameron Elwer score…Delphos leading by 11, 36-25.
Known for their scoring, Delphos came out in the third with a defensive attitude while Elwer and company kept doing what they do. An Elwer three-pointer (his second) at 5:08 of the quarter, followed by a pair of free throws, upped the advantage to 42-25, their biggest lead of the game, and the quarter concluded with the Jays leading, 47-34.
They played defense in the third quarter…Cam Elwer gets a hand on an Owen Grime pass intended for teammate Logan Kerner in the lane.
But Aaron Elwer had promised that Kalida would not give in, and the ‘Cats would turn to their physicality, and to Owen Grime, who began hitting shots at the rim and getting to the line. Along with Logan Kerner they gradually whittled the Delphos lead down to 49-42 at the mid-point of the fourth quarter.
“We had it to a two-possession game,” said Ryan Stechschulte, later. “Of course, we’re playing the best shooter in Ohio and we weren’t able to do enough.”
The Wildcats were also in foul trouble, with both Grime and Kerner playing with four. Recognizing that, Cam Elwer just kept attacking the rim, getting to the line as the chants of “free throw merchant” disappeared altogether with each passing minute.
And finally, at 2:45 left in the game, someone found Andrew Elwer standing all alone at the top of the key – a defensive breakdown – and as he raised to attempt the three-pointer you could hear the student section murmur, “Oh, no.” Elwer didn’t disappoint, swishing his first and only three-pointer of the second half to push the lead back to 54-44. And with it, the final minute with that shot became a technicality….56-47.
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“I was excited for him to make that shot,” said older brother Cam of his brother’s dagger three-pointer. “But I wasn’t surprised. He’s put a lot of time in the gym since we’ve been little, and I’ve seen him make that shot countless times.”
Andrew Elwer’s three-pointer eased the tension of the fourth quarter, and restored the Blue Jays lead to double digits.
Cam Elwer led everyone, as he had all year, with 28 points. Andrew Elwer had 9. Easton Elwer had 6 (his two first quarter three-pointers), Brayden Klaus finished with 5, Tyce McClain had 4, and Jackson Wiechart had 2 points.
For Kalida, Owen Grime led them with 18 points, Paul Stechschulte had 8, and Logan Kerner finished with 7 to lead the Wildcats.
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Delphos St. John shot 50% from the floor, 50% from three-point range (8 of 16), and thanks to the ‘free throw merchant’, the Blue Jays shot 16 of 21 from the line (76,2%)
The hardware felt good…the first Blue Jay basketball championship since 2002, 24 years!
By contrast, Kalida shot 46% from the floor, 45.5% from three-point range, and importantly…the ‘Cats would make just 4 of 10 from the foul line (40%), while losing by 9 points. Their 6 missed free throws could have changed the complexion of the game entirely, making the final score a one-possession matter.
The trophy was presented to a raucous roar from the Delphos contingent, as if a ‘first’ had been achieved, and not just history. One by one the players posed with it, shared it with each other, and claimed at least a modicum of mental ownership.
Pressure had been lifted from the Elwers, Aaron and Cam, as only winning the whole damned thing could justify 29 wins without a defeat…or justify the incredible four-year run, freshman to senior, that would land Cam Elwer sixth in the Ohio’s all-time high school scoring stats.
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“It really was a great competitive moment,” said Elwer about playing a familiar opponent just thirteen miles away, and the even more familiar opponent…pressure! “And I’ve put a lot of pressure on myself to get to this, since back when I was a freshman. I always wanted the big moment. I always wanted to win so bad for all the people who have sacrificed so much for me…so I’ve pushed myself on and off the court to be a better player and a better human.
“As the games have gotten bigger, and the time got closer, my emotions have gotten better because I knew the guys that we have. ” – Aaron Elwer
“Today is just an awesome feeling. I never realized when I started how hard this would be to accomplish, and I just feel so blessed to be in this spot.”
“So the first day I took this job I told myself that I was not going to try to block out the pressure,” said Aaron Elwer, giving his own testimony to the magnitude of the moment. “I grew up here, played here, and now there are emotions of coaching my two sons, of being undefeated, and that target on your back.
“But I’ve never allowed myself to become overwhelmed with the pressure because I didn’t want to think about how I’d react. But if I did react it would be to my wife or myself, and not to the guys. Like I said earlier, I’ve learned so much from being around these guys during this journey. As the games have gotten bigger, and the time got closer, my emotions have gotten better because I knew the guys that we have. And they just keep doing it, and they kept doing it again today.
“When we got to the arena, it was the best that I had felt all day. Because this group has everyone’s back, and that’s given me a lot of peace of mind.”
And it was tough on this little Wildcat fan who had Dad to lean on.
Apples just got more popular in Delphos, as both an omen and the old familiar home remedy – an apple a day.
And history?
Well Aaron Elwer’s name will now be on the gym wall with Bob Arnzen and Brett Norris, whose Hilliard Bradley team beat Pickerington in the Division I semi-final Saturday, further extending the Delphos St. John basketball legacy.
But closer to home?
29-0 is forever cemented, never to be forgotten, and one win better than the perfect record of 1983 (28-0).
Bob Arnzen is smiling somewhere.
And Norris can’t help but nod, even with his own matters of the moment.
Truly, has there ever been a better day…to be a Blue Jay?
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