TOP OF THE CROP
Boys basketball
1: (1) Elyria 10-5
2: (2) Avon 10-5
3: (3) North Ridgeville 8-6
4: (4) Avon Lake 8-7
5: (5) Lorain 6-8
6: (6) Fairview 10-4
7: (8) Midview 9-6
8: (7) Brookside 12-4
9: (10) Firelands 9-7
10: (NR) Columbia 8-5
Dropped out: Rocky River 6-7
Watch list: Wellington 11-4
Crop comments: Elyria keeps on rolling and stays at No. 1. The Pioneers trailed by double digits to Olmsted Falls, but came back to win in overtime. They got up early in their last game, a dominant 89-46 win over Valley Forge on Jan. 30. Jayden Crutcher was on fire and knocked down nine 3-pointers to tie the school record. Elyria travels to North Ridgeville on Feb. 2 in a big-time clash. … Avon has also found its winning ways once again. The Eagles needed to rebound after losses to Avon Lake and Elyria, and have done that with wins over North Ridgeville and Rocky River. … North Ridgeville is back at No. 3 following the loss to Avon, but the Rangers are a different team than a week ago. Griffin Turay is back, and he scored 21 points in the win over Amherst on Jan. 29. They’re a team to watch down the stretch. … You don’t know what version of Avon Lake is going to show up on a nightly basis, but the Shoremen are capable of anything. They were rolling and playing well heading into a home game against Midview on Jan. 26. The Middies pulled out the victory. Avon Lake responded with a win over Bay the next night, and is off until playing Amherst on Feb. 2. … Following a loss to undefeated Garfield Heights, Lorain remains No. 5. There’s nothing much to take away from that game because the Bulldogs are that good. The Titans look to return to their winning ways when they host Shaw on Feb. 2. … The same goes for Fairview. The Warriors hosted Lutheran West on Jan. 30, and lost by a big margin. The Longhorns are also one of Ohio’s best teams, so it was just a tough matchup. … Up to No. 7 is Midview. The Middies have been constantly improving, but beating Avon Lake on the road when the Shoremen were playing well can’t go unnoticed. They host Berea-Midpark on Feb. 2 in a huge game toward the SWC race. … Brookside drops a spot, but not of the Cardinals’ doing. Midview’s win over Avon Lake pulled a lot of weight, so the two teams flipped spots. With that being said, Brookside is rolling right now on a four-game win streak. … Moving up a spot is Firelands at No. 9. The Falcons are hanging in there after tough losses, but they have a chance moving forward to change their fortunes. The Falcons and Columbia are one game back of Brookside in the LC8 standings, so the race will be intense. … Speaking of Columbia, the Raiders are playing well. They picked up back-to-back LC8 wins in two days over Wellington and Clearview. They also won at North Olmsted on Jan. 30 to add another victory. Brookside at Columbia on Feb. 3 will go a long way toward the conference title. … Rocky River falls out of the rankings after losses to Westlake and Avon. The Pirates are trying to find their footing again. … Wellington is still on the outside looking in following losses to Columbia and Western Reserve. … The Dukes beat Oberlin in between to pick up another conference win.