Someone else shot the three…Jackson Wiechart (above) hits the first of his back-to-back three pointers in the second quarter during Delphos St. Johns’s 61-32 Division VII semi-final win over Malvern. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Impressive in ways other than Camron Elwer, Delphos St. John blew out first-timer Malvern in the state Division VII semi-final game to set up the anticipated prize at the end of the journey – one win away from a title.
Fairborn, OH – Delphos St. John Coach Aaron Elwer frequently makes reference to the Blue Jay’s now 28-0 record as a journey…for all the hours, all the work, and all the anticipation.
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And now the journey is down to one final game, one final win on Saturday at UD Arena, following Friday’s 61-32 romp over The Malvern Hornets, from Carroll County, making their first trip to the State Tournament.
And they showed signs of it.
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Malvern got off to a slow start, turned the ball over, and frankly seemed preoccupied with preventing Cam Elwer from scoring 40 points over playing their best basketball to win the game. Maybe, maybe not. But who could blame them?
With him averaging 30 points a game in the playoffs, they effectively drove Elwer off the three-point line and into an even worst-possible scenario (for Malvern) of finding other wide-open shooters behind the line. Jackson Wiechart, Tyce McClain, Easton Elwert, Andrew Elwert, and Ian Fairchild gladly obliged, hitting a combined 7 of 18 from behind the arc, while being otherwise satisfied with doing whatever it took to just get to that one last game on Saturday.
And for the three quarters that coach Aaron Elwer kept the Blue Jay starters on the court, they defended as well as they usually play on offense, limiting Malvern to just 21 points and 37% shooting from the field.
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“They’re a great team,” said Malvern coach Travis Tucci, later. “And Cameron Elwer is my choice for Mr. Basketball in Ohio because he does so much to help his team win. I like that in a Mr. Basketball. I was rooting for him.”
What Elwer showed Tucci, in person, was his ability to showcase himself in deference to his shooting, finding other open teammates while he was being double-teamed, his rebounding, and simply his decoying defensive attention away from the afore-mentioned shooters above.
His only three-pointer of the game…Cam Elwer came on the heels of back-to-backs by Jackson Wiechart to break the game open in the second quarter.
And when last-man-off-the-bench sub Ian Fairchild sank a 24-footer from the wing for Delphos’ last points of the game, the Nutter Center roof rattled for an instant – homage to Fairchild, yes, but also to the reality that everyone on the Dephos roster is an interchangeable part, if and when it’s necessary. And Friday it was necessary for everyone to ante up for the sake of the pot.
Elwer had 2 points by the end of the first quarter, but Delphos lead 12-5. And it was obvious that the Malvern five did not have what it would take to prevent the five Blue Jays they were playing to score in bunches.
As an example, Malvern doubled the first two times that Elwer touched the ball in the second quarter. He simply passed it to Jackson Wiechart standing alone at the wing for a wide open three – not once, but twice.
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On the third possession Malvern took notice of Wiechart standing by himself and dedicated one of Elwer’s defenders in Wiechart’s direction. Elwer coolly side-stepped, launched a three, and drained it…his only three-pointer of the game.
“I thought we handled it well,” said Aaron Elwer. “They wanted a physical game, tough and clean, they were deliberate on offense, and we could never get into a great flow with the ball, offensively. That’s hard to play against, and at the end of the day that’s what everyone is doing with a game plan…trying to take away what we do best, offensively. That was their approach, and give them credit. I thought they executed it well.”
But they executed it for too long – wasted a lot of time on offensive possessions taking time off the clock trying to find an open shot. Delphos’ defense, as it turned out, was as important a component to their win as their offense.
Cam Elwer got involved enough with the offense in the second quarter to score 7 points, mostly on drives to the rim where he challenged Malvern to stop him or foul. They fouled, and he, for the game, would finish hitting 7 of 7. By halftime Delphos led 27-12, and there was little question about Malvern making any kind of a comeback, without Delphos going to its bench early.
That didn’t happen, at least in the third quarter.
Alternative points….Andrew Elwer waits for his opening to score in the second half against Malvern.
Elwer would continue to shoot free throws, accumulating his game-high 18 points by the time he left the game at the start of the fourth quarter, with the Jays leading comfortably, 51-31.
And just for touch – a reminder, if you will – Delphos worked the ball for the final thirty seconds of the third quarter before Tyce McClain would launch a three from the top of the key at the horn – all net, as you might expect. And, the final three until Easton Elwer at 6:00, and Ian Fairchild hit his with a minute left in the game.
“The word that everyone likes to use is ‘spurtability’, said Elwer, post-game. “How can you speed things up to get more possessions. And I thought we did a pretty good job of doing that, too.”
Delphos had showed its best offense in the third quarter, scoring 24 points, more points than Malvern had scored collectively in the first three.
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“[Today] showed who we are as a team outside of Cam and Andrew,” Elwer added. “They get a lot of publicity, which they deserve, but our others guys are there in the gym working hard, like Jackson Wiechart. And today they made their contribution felt.”
Brayden Klaus and St. John’s defense…made up for a lack of offensive flow in the Blue Jay’s 61-32 state semi-final win.
To his mentioning periodically about the journey, the St. John journey this year started against Kalida, and it will end against Kalida, who beat Hillsdale Jerome in the other Division VII semi-final game, 48-36.
“That’s true,” said Aaron Elwer. “But they’re not the same team now as they were then (a 45-30 Delphos win), and we’re not, either. We had some injuries then, Andrew didn’t play in that game, and we’ll go back to the hotel tonight, watch some film, maybe some NCAA, get a good night’s sleep, and be ready to play tomorrow.”
“They’re an entirely different team, and I like to think we’re a different team now,” added Kalida coach Ryan Stechschulte in his post-game press conference. “But we went to their team camp back in the summer and we know them pretty well.”
There was little said over Cameron Elwer’s being snubbed as Ohio’s Mr. Basketball, as Marques Johnson, from Garfield Heights won it for a second year in a row.
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“Individual awards come from team success,” added Cameron, curtly. “So I’ve gotten mentioned through our team success, and I’m extremely blessed. And good job to Marques.“
“I’m super proud of Cam,” said brother Andrew. “He deserved it. With the time he spends, he’s very deserving.”
Malven hadn’t seen defense like this…scored just 20 points in the second half.
“Very unique situation for Cam, our family, and our program,” said dad, Aaron. “It’s been a long journey and process for all of our guys. And for Cameron his whole career has been nothing short of elite, for four straight years. So to be mentioned is a true testament to everything he’s done since he was a little guy. And it’s been cool to be a part of his journey. But I do know this…he’s the most efficient player in the state of Ohio. And there’s definitely no question over what he’s done now for 104 varsity games.”
Aaron Elwer closed his private post-game remarks by addressing the fact that his team has no one taller than 6’3″ that plays, and how they’ve had to adapt to so many different styles and size of opponents. And last year they lost in the regional final to Arlington, who had legitimate size in the post. Kalida’s lone big man – bigger than Delphos St. John – is junior center Ryan Remlinger.
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“People have asked for years now if we have any size,” said Elwer. “And the answer is not really…we don’t. We spent a lot of time in the off-season becoming bigger, faster and stronger, and that’s been evident. We don’t look the same out there as we did last year.
“We’re not the same team we were last year,” says Delphos St. John coach Aaron Elwer.
“And other thing that’s evident is our guys are very highly skilled, and in the tournament guards are really good to have. They give you a lot of confidence as a coach. And we trust our skill in those positions.
“And last year was the first time we had been in that situation, to lose in a regional final game. So there’s an experience and confidence factor this year that we didn’t have then. We’re a very different team than we were last year.”
Which they’ve shown now…against St. Clairsville, LCC, against Marion Local (its lone loss), against Spencerville, against Division VI semi-finalist Lincolnview, and in two overtime wins, outscoring opponents 2,080 points to 1,315.
Now for one more win.
“The first time we’ve played for a state championship since 2002,” smiled Elwer. “It’s been too long. And we’re looking forward to that opportunity tomorrow afternoon.”
He hopes – they hope- after all this time…the best version of the journey!
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