A blowout loss is not exactly what a Dragon basketball team coming off a 19-win season had in mind prior to their 2006-07 opener on Dec. 5.
So a 70-48 thumping at the hands of visiting Romeo didn’t sit to kindly with the team or its coaching staff.
‘That is not how a Lake Orion basketball team has played defense over the last couple of years,? said Coach Jim Manzo. ‘On the defensive end, we gave them too much. They looked fully comfortable.?
Doug Sharples had 14 points and 11 boards for Romeo. He was also charged with the task of guarding the Dragons? Drew Maynard, and held him to a relatively quiet 20-point, 10-rebound performance.
‘Our number one goal was not to let him have a dunk,? said Romeo Coach Dave Teller. ‘If you can keep him outside, shooting threes, that’s a good game plan.?
The game was viewed by some as a showdown between two of the state’s top juniors in Maynard and Romeo’s Blake Cushingberry (who led the team with 15 points), but that never developed as Maynard shifted to the low post to fill in for the injured Cole Moore (out until January with a back injury).
Romeo raced out to a quick 6-0 lead and led by five after one quarter, using their size advantage to get good looks in the paint.
‘They started four guards,? Teller noted. ‘There were some mismatches.?
‘When you have a guard as good as Cushingberry, you have to take advantage of that,? he added.
The second quarter started much like the first, another 6-0 Romeo run before the Dragons called timeout just over two minutes in.
That run ballooned to 10-0, as Romeo’s continued pressure forced the Dragons into eight turnovers in each of the first two quarters.
‘We’ve got guys that don’t normally do things like that,? Manzo said. ‘We were out of sync and I didn’t think we were very strong with the basketball.?
Things got out of hand quickly, as the visitors led by as many as 24 in the half and took a 37-15 lead into the break.
The Dragons finally found their offense in the second half, scoring 17 in the third, but they were still outscored in the quarter.
Lake Orion trailed by 29 points early in the fourth, when both teams started to empty their benches.
‘They’re a better team, period,? Manzo said. ‘We got out-played and out-coached.?
‘But they’re not 30 points better than us,? he added. ‘We just didn’t compete.?
Game notes
***Chris Lum added 10 points for the Dragons and Devin Hamilton, in his first game in a Lake Orion jersey, added four points and eight rebounds.
***Starting point guard Ross Tonyan injured his ankle early in the third and returned only briefly. Manzo said the injury was not a serious one, though Tonyan did struggle with a tweaked ankle in the preseason.
***Romeo shot just over 50 percent on the night (30/59), while the Dragons were barely over 20 percent in the first half alone (6/28, including 0/9 from three-point range).
***Maynard scored nine of his 20 in the first half, being the only Dragon with more than two points in the half. He missed all seven of his three-point attempts in the game.
***The closest the game got in the second half was 19 points, midway through the third quarter.
***It was the second straight year the Dragons opened against Romeo, losing last year 64-57 at Romeo. Lake Orion won the 2004 contest, which was also their home opener.
***Manzo praised the interior passing of Romeo, saying his team would watch tape of the game to fully appreciate how their opponent’s big men moved the ball around.