ELIDA 67, CELINA 57

Elida head coach Denny Thompson told Mathias before the game that he had the green light to shoot from well beyond the 3-point arc.

“His eyes kind of lit up,” Thompson said. “If they were going to send people at him, I wanted him to get a good look before they got to him.”

Mathias went 6-of-11 from outside, including one that was nearing the 35-foot volleyball line that drew gasps from the crowd as he launched it.

“He said that in the pre-game and I got excited and let it go,” said Mathias, who was named the Western Buckeye League’s player of the year earlier this week.

Mathias went 3-for-3 from 3-point range in the second quarter, as Elida went from being down 13-12 after one quarter to going into the half up 33-19.

Celina shot 1-for-13 in the second quarter, most of which were makable shots, Celina head coach Chris Bihn said. “There was a period in the second and third quarters where we couldn’t stop them and they were taking some tough shots and making them and we had some lay-ups rim in and out. They were scoring we weren’t.”

Elida extended its lead to 22 points early in the third quarter.

Elida will play Lexington next Wednesday at 8 p.m. at ONU.