The Lake Orion boys? basketball squad saw their season come to an end, just three days after winning a third-straight league title.
The team got off to a rough start in Monday’s district opener against Waterford Mott (held at Clarkston) and could never recover, falling 65-56.
‘They pretty much outplayed us from start to finish,? Manzo said. ‘They deserve a lot of credit for that. They looked like a confident team. We played loose and we played tight.?
‘They had 24 points at halftime,? Manzo said. ‘It wasn’t that our defense was bad. You just can’t score 12 points in a half and expect to win.?
The Dragons trailed 12-3 after one quarter and were down 24-12 at halftime.
They trailed by as many as 19 in the third quarter and their 31 fourth quarter points were negated by Mott free throws down the stretch.
The Corsairs shot 20-of-25 (80%) from the charity stripe in the second half.
‘I thought it was a good comeback,? Manzo said. ‘You hope the other team misses some free throws or turns the ball over, and they didn’t do either of them.?
Drew Maynard had a double-double for the Dragons, but didn’t lead the team in scoring for the first time all season. That honor went to Jeff Heath, who scored all of his game-high 18 points in the second half.
Mott had four players in double figures, led by Kevin Lewis? 18 points.
Lake Orion’s season ends with a 12-9 mark, but they accomplished what is believed to be a school record by winning a third straight league title, tying Southfield for OAA II supremacy at 10-2.
‘It feels empty because just a few nights ago everybody was feeling good,? Manzo said of the team’s 58-51 comeback win over Avondale.
‘We were down by nine in the first half, but we came back and played well,? he added. ‘Tonight we didn’t.?