In a packed Dragon Fieldhouse, the Lake Orion Special Olympics basketball team readily defeated Jardon last Thursday, 30-18.
The Dragons got to a slow start, trailing Jardon 6-4 by the end of the first quarter.
Good defense prevented a lot of scoring in the second quarter, and a bucket by Orion’s Emily Absher at the buzzer tied Lake Orion at 8-all, and brought the crowd to their feet.
Lake Orion pulled ahead by the end of the third quarter, 14-12, and never looked back after that.
The Dragons outscored Jardon 16-6 in the final stanza, including three-pointers by Chris Ford and Bobby Moore.
Jason Sjoblom lead Lake Orion’s Special Olympians with four points in a team-scoring effort. Seven Special Olympians scored for the Dragons, as well as all four unified athletes.
Jardon, coached by Dennis May, was lead by James Altizer and Brian Shouneyia, who each contributed eights points. Courtney McDonald added Jardon’s other bucket.
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Lake Orion Dragons Team Roster
Special Olympians
#1 Dan Plotzke
#2 Michael Reynolds
#5 Alisa Harding
#14 Jason Sjoblom
#15 Kate Appledorn
#21 Zachary Brubaker
#24 Matthew MacDonald
#31 Chris Ford
#42 Emily Absher
#43 Bobby Moore
#50 David Clemmer

Unified Athletes
#4 Valerie Kipp
#12 Maggie Hughes
#20 Zach Hudson
#35 Kim Bruce

Coaches
Jill Rossler
Matt Schwarck