After grabbing an early 2-0 lead, it took Farmington Hills Harrison until the 3:42 mark of the fourth quarter to get the lead back.
But that was just in their battle to outscore Lake Orion sophomore Drew Maynard.
Whether Harrison would outscore Maynard was about the only thing left to decide after a one-sided first half that saw the Dragons lead by as many as 24.
The lead increased to 38 by early in the fourth quarter as Lake Orion cruised to a 67-32 victory.
The win put LO in sole possession of first place in the third division of the Oakland Activities Association.
The Dragons have not won a league title since coach Jim Manzo was a player on the team, back in 1988.
For the record, Maynard had 29 points to go along with seven rebounds, but he and the rest of the Dragon starters were all on the bench by the time Harrison hit 30.
‘That’s not a bad team we just beat,? Manzo said afterwards. ‘They beat West Bloomfield who’s division one.?
‘To hold them to 32 points, that’s what I’m most pleased with,? he added.
Manzo credited the variety of defenses that LO threw at Harrison for getting the visitors ‘out of their comfort zone.?
Harrison had just 16 points at the half and struggled mightily with LO’s full court press.
On the other side of the ball, Manzo said that junior point guard Ross Tonyan was the key to getting the offense into high gear.
‘I told him I think he’s the best point guard in our league and one of the most underrated players in the county,? Manzo said.
Tonyan had 14 assists on the night, in spite of sitting out most of the fourth quarter.
‘I just want to get my team the ball,? Tonyan said. ‘If I don’t need to score, then I don’t need to score.?
Manzo said senior Marc Thompson was another big spark for the Dragons. He finished with a team-high eight rebounds.
Senior center Justin Diesbourg added 11 points and seven boards.
In all, ten Dragons put their names in the scoring column as LO improved to 6-1 in the league and 12-2 overall.
Things got so lopsided that the only thing Manzo had left to yell at was the crowd, after their reaction to a small altercation on the court late in the third.
The coach said he didn’t want to create any unneeded bad blood between the two squads, particularly because the Dragons still must travel to Harrison.
‘You hope there’s enough time,? Manzo said of the distance between the two meetings. ‘A lot of basketball games will be played before then.?
He cited the home-and-home with Ferndale earlier in the year as an example of why space between games can be a good thing.
After getting routed by LO on a Tuesday night, Ferndale came out as a different team before eventually falling by two in their own gym that same Friday.
The shoe will be on the other foot when the Dragons attempt to avenge their only league loss when they host Stoney Creek on Feb. 17.
Stoney Creek beat LO with a buzzer-beating three-pointer back in January.
The rematch begins at 7 p.m.
When asked if his team had circled that game on their schedule Manzo said, ‘I know I did.?