Lake Orion basketball coach Jim Manzo knows his team might take its share of losses this year. He just hopes their tough schedule will pay off come March.
The Dragons lost their third game of the season Tuesday night, matching their regular season total from all of last year, falling 54-49 to visiting Birmingham Detroit Country Day.
The undefeated Yellowjackets (7-0) held off a feisty Dragon rally down the stretch, capping their win with an ‘improvised? play in the final half-minute.
Coming out of a time out underneath the LO basket, and up by three with 21.5 seconds left, Country Day’s Darnell (‘D?) Brown was supposed get open via the pick and roll – at which point he would likely get fouled and head to the free throw line.
But when that play was cut-off by an Orion defender, Brown and inbounder Darryl Nobles came up with something different.
‘We tell the kids ‘if there is a defender between you and the ball to go for the touchdown,?? Yellowjacket Coach Kurt Keener said. ‘I give credit to our senior, Nobles. He threw the ball where only our guy could get it.?
Brown, who led Country Day with 17 points, caught the long pass and made an easy lay-up to seal the win.
Country Day never trailed, coming out with a pressure defense that forced six LO turnovers in the game’s opening quarter.
‘I don’t know that they’ve seen someone in their face like that before,? Keener said.
Manzo agreed, saying they’ve seen some good defenses in the early part of this season, but ‘not like that.?
Lake Orion trailed by as many as 10 in the opening quarter and was down 17-10 at the end of it.
‘They had 17 at the end of one and ended up with 54,? Manzo said, noting his team ‘woke up? in the second stanza.
The Dragons employed a zone defense and, at times, a full court press to give the Yellowjackets a different look in the second quarter.
‘I think Ross really ignited us,? Manzo said of senior Ross Tonyan, who scored six points and had a pair of assists in the quarter, helping LO narrow the gap to three.
But the Yellowjackets scored four points in the final three seconds, first on a Clayton Beard lay-up and then on a steal and buzzer-beater by Nobles, to increase the lead back to 31-22 at the break.
The Dragons didn’t fold, however, cutting the deficit back to three points in the opening minutes of the third quarter.
In that quarter alone, LO had just three turnovers and put up 16 field goal attempts, compared to 20 in the entire first half.
‘They fed off of each other and they fed off of the crowd,? Manzo said of his team’s efforts.
With under three minutes to go in the game, a Drew Maynard lay-up trimmed the Yellowjacket lead to 48-46.
After a Country Day basket, Tonyan made a sidewinding move in the lane, finishing with a lay-up to cut the lead in half yet again.
A Country Day turnover in the backcourt gave LO a chance to tie or take the lead with 1:14 left.
Out of a timeout, the Dragons got a three-point look for Joe Barnes, but the senior, who made two threes earlier in the half, couldn’t convert.
Manzo said the play was designed to go down low, but Country Day defenders did a good job in denying an entry pass.
Beard made a basket at the other end to put the visitors up two possessions, and a free throw by Cole Moore of the Dragons set up the Nobles-to-Brown connection at the end.
‘I thought we tired in the fourth quarter,? Keener said. ‘But a characteristic of a great team is they find a way to win.?
Maynard led the Dragons with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Moore chipped in with 11 points and 10 boards, in just his second game of the season.
‘He was better tonight then he was last Friday, and he’ll be better then that this Friday,? Manzo said of Moore.
The Dragons play at Rochester Adams in a big OAA II showdown on Friday, with tip-off set for 7 p.m.

Game Notes
*Tonyan finished one assist shy of being the third Dragon double-double on the night. He had 10 points and nine assists.
*As a team, the Dragons shot just over 50 percent in the game (20-of-49). They were 5-of-17 from three-point range.
*Beard finished with 12 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks and Nobles added 11 points for Country Day.
*Lake Orion is 4-3 overall, but Manzo isn’t concerned with the win-loss record as much as in years past.
‘I really think that game is going to help us in March,? he said.