It was a tale of two games for the LO men’s hoopsters in their consecutive contests with OAA III rival Ferndale last week.
Fortunately for the Dragons, the end results were the same as the team recovered from a heartbreaking loss to Stoney Creek the week before.
After a dominating performance on Jan. 17 that resulted in a 25 point victory at home, the Dragons held off Ferndale in their place by just two points on Jan. 20.
In game one, the Dragons used strong second and third quarters to put things out of reach for Ferndale.
LO won the second quarter 17-4 and tripled the Ferndale output in the two quarters 33-11.
Sophomore forward Drew Maynard led the Dragons with 20 points and Jon Krause, a senior forward, chipped in nine as LO cruised to a 64-39 victory.
The two teams saved all the excitement for round two, a 47-45 thriller.
‘Ferndale turned up their intensity big time,? Dragon coach Jim Manzo said.
Ferndale coach Greg Williamson agreed with that assessment.
‘It was just a matter of effort on our part,? Williamson said.
The start of the game looked strikingly similar, with the Dragons getting ahead by double digits in the first half.
‘We just didn’t put them away when we had the chance,? Manzo said of his squad’s early 11 point advantage.
Ferndale hung tough, but LO managed to get to the free throw line early and often, and use it to their advantage when it mattered most.
‘After the third quarter we were already shooting the double bonus, so that was huge,? said senior center Justin Diesbourg, who scored ten in the game.
On the night, the Dragons were a whopping 20 of 31 at the charity stripe.
‘With our size, we feel we’re better oriented to play inside,? Manzo said. ‘Thirty-one free throws is where we want to be.?
Williamson saw the number 31 in a different light.
‘Calling it tight is fine, but they shot probably triple the amount of free throws that we did,? he said.
Ferndale was 4-9 from the free throw line.
But the LO players and coaches felt they were the more aggressive team. They agreed that a tightly called game is a good thing for them.
‘We’re hoping for those calls,? Maynard said. ‘It plays to our strength.?
Maynard again led the Dragons, this time netting 16, 13 of which came in the first half. He also led the team with eight rebounds.
Manzo credited his team’s defense for the victory, and it was certainly evident in the final minutes.
‘Maybe we learned our lesson in the Stoney Creek game,? he said.
Ferndale used an 11-2 run to tie the game at 42 with under four minutes to go, but couldn’t quite get over the hump as LO clamped down defensively.
After a timeout, the Dragons milked the clock for 45 seconds before junior guard Ross Tonyan got free for a jump shot that put LO up for good.
Diesbourg hit a free throw and Tonyan added two more to put the Dragons up 47-42.
Meanwhile, Maynard had a huge block on the defensive end and the only basket Ferndale scored in the final 3:40 was a meaningless three pointer as time expired.
The win sends LO home for a much deserved home stand. They were 4-1 on the road trip and sit at 8-2 on the season (3-1 in league play).
‘It feels good to be going home for six games, and five of those are in the league,? Diesbourg noted.
‘Four of our last five have been on the road,? Manzo said. ‘That’s a month on the road.?
‘We’re undefeated at home and excited to get back into that environment,? he added.