Lake Orion might not have won its showdown with state powerhouse Pontiac Northern on Tuesday night, but they certainly didn’t walk off the court looking like losers.
For the Dragons, it marked the third time in four tries against quality Oakland County opponents (Country Day, Southfield-Lathrup and Clarkston, the lone win) they fell just short.
‘We have had an opportunity to win or tie all of those games at the end,? Lake Orion Coach Jim Manzo said.
‘My aspirations are for March,? he noted. ‘I got to believe that game helps us somewhere down the road, all of these games.?
Northern grabbed the lead for good in the third quarter of the see-sawing contest, and held off some valiant Dragon surges for a 69-65 victory.
‘It was a very good game, it could have gone either way,? said Northern Coach Robert Rogers, whose team rebounded from a loss to West Bloomfield last week that dropped them six spots in the state rankings.
‘For a lot of teams, they look on the schedule and they see Northern and it’s the highlight,? Rogers said. ‘That’s respect. We appreciate the respect they give us.?
Northern improved to 10-2 on the season, but the Dragons, who fell to 8-4, will not dwell on the defeat.
‘We told the kids Friday’s game is more important than tonight’s, because Friday’s game counts in terms of winning a championship,? Manzo said. ‘We want to win another championship, so we start to build a little reputation.?
Lake Orion hosts Avondale in an OAA II contest at 7 p.m. on Friday.
They’ll have to get some rest before then after the fast-paced, up-and-down tilt with Northern.
‘Both teams looked very fatigued at the end,? Manzo said.
‘We need to develop some more depth,? he added, offering a possible solution.
Tim Williams led Northern with 19 points, and Devonte Pryor scored 15 of his 16 after the break for the visitors.
‘Tim Williams hit some pretty big shots for them,? Manzo said, ‘and Pryor, I thought, really hurt us.?
‘We stayed off of him and he still got to the basket,? Manzo said of Pryor’s quickness.
Lake Orion’s Drew Maynard led all scorers with 33 points.
‘We’ve seen Maynard before, he’s a very good ball player,? Rogers said. ‘Whomever gets him is going to get a steal.?
Chris Lum added 16 for LO, including 11 in the opening quarter, where the Dragons led by as many as seven.
Northern finished the first half on a 10-1 run and closed the third quarter on a similar-looking 9-0 run.
‘They had a spurt at the end of the quarter in the second and the third,? Manzo said, ‘and that really has been our Achilles? heel of late.?
The run at the end of the third turned a four-point Dragon lead into a five-point deficit as they headed to the fourth quarter.
Lake Orion cut the Northern lead down to two on multiple occasions in the fourth and finally got it down to one-point on a rare five-point possession.
Trailing 63-57, Lum was fouled on a three-point attempt and made two of the three free throws, missing the third. The rebound was tapped out to Ross Tonyan, who found Joe Barnes open for three.
After Pryor split a pair of free throws, the Dragons had a chance to tie or take the lead on their next possession, but a Maynard three-point attempt came up short.
That was as close as the Dragons would get, as Northern made five of eight free throw attempts in the final minute to hang on.
Game notes:
*Lake Orion shot over 50 percent from the floor as a team (23/43, 53%), with their field goal percentage just slightly better than their free throw percentage (13/25, 52%).
*Barnes and Cole Moore each had six points for LO, with Moore adding 12 rebounds. Tonyan scored just two points, but added nine assists.
*Both coaches commented on the atmosphere inside the LOHS Fieldhouse.
‘It’s a special place to play,? Manzo said. ‘I don’t know that many people have that on a Tuesday night in January. I think they got their five bucks worth tonight.?
‘They had a good sixth man in the stands,? Rogers said. ‘Their fans were fantastic and they almost pulled one off.?
*Seldom used sophomore guard Antwone Smothers scored 12 points off the bench, including three three-pointers (one on a buzzer-beater), to lead Northern in the first half.
Smothers? game experience showed when was lectured on how to properly report to the scorer’s table by timekeeper Steve Roberts, but it didn’t effect his perimeter shooting.
‘I’m just glad we got contributions off our bench,? Rogers said. ‘We can’t win these games without their positive contributions.?

For photos from the game, see next week’s hardcopy issue of The Lake Orion Review.