Tigers keep plugging away, nearly finish off big comeback
HOWLAND — Coming all the way back from a 19-point, second-half deficit, the Howland Tigers seemed destined to win a wild conference matchup with Ashtabula Lakeside.
Despite being grossly overmatched in size and athleticism, the Tigers clawed their way back and took the lead with 1:04 remaining in the fourth quarter. While the lead was shortlived following a contested lay-up by Lakeside’s Isaiah Mathers, one of Howland’s best shooters had a chance to give Howland the lead the next time down the court. A few seconds later after a Lakeside turnover, one of the Tigers’ best players could have tied the game with two free throws.
Neither shot fell.
It’s been that kind of season for the Tigers.
The final two of Mathers’ 33 points ended up being the difference as the Dragons held on for a 75-71 All-American Conference, White Tier victory.
Howland coach Dan Bubon was disappointed in the loss, but he couldn’t help but point out the perseverance of his team.
“Look at that team tonight,” Bubon said of Lakeside. “They’re bigger, stronger, more athletic, so how do you get mad at that effort?
“It’s a physical mismatch, as is a lot of our schedule, and that’s what I love about this team,” Bubon added. “This is my 22nd year of coaching, and this is one of my favorite teams that I’ve ever coached because I don’t care who you throw at us, we’re going to battle you all the way through.”
They certainly did Friday.
Lakeside (8-14, 4-8) boasted two post players — 6-foot-6 Matt Lunghofer and 6-7 Nick Roberson — who towered over a Tigers (7-14, 2-10) team whose tallest player was 6-foot. The Dragons started to take advantage of that size difference in the second quarter, as Roberson and Lunghofer dominated the boards, finishing with 10 apiece. Mathers then took over in the third quarter, scoring 14 and handing out several assists to keep the offense running smoothly. Lakeside led by 19 at one point late in the third quarter.
“Thank goodness for our big guys that are more veteran guys and paved the way for us,” Dragons coach Robert Pisano said. “Isaiah had a great game tonight. Matt and Nick obviously rebounded the ball pretty well, but the simple breakdown was we stopped identifying where the shooters were in our zone.”
Part of Lakeside’s turnaround stemmed from a switch to a zone defense after starting with a man-to-man approach. Howland was struggling to make any outside shots, so the zone worked well… until the fourth quarter.
Nathan Leventis scored 11 of his 18 points in the fourth, when the Tigers went on a 24-9 run. When Connor Tamarkin tied the game at 68 with a lay-up, a once-silent crowd was suddenly on its feet screaming. They nearly erupted when Leventis gave Howland a 71-70 lead with a 3 from the corner. Yet that’s when Mathers drove coast to coast and made a spin move in the lane before sinking a runner to retake the lead with less than one minute to play.
Over the next two Howland possessions, Frank Rappach couldn’t connect on an open 3 from the corner that would have given the Tigers the lead, and after Lunghofer made one free throw to put Lakeside up 73-71, Tamarkin missed the front end of a one-and-one with 6.5 seconds left. Lunghofer then sealed the win with two free throws.
“To make that comeback, to take the lead,” said Bubon, shaking his head. “Rappach got a nice look from the corner. I thought it was good off his hand. Then Tamarkin goes to the line, and we had shot great from the line the whole game. What are you going to do? One of our best shooters gets an open 3. Our best player gets a shot at the line to tie the game, and they don’t go in. These kids deserve so much better than some of the ways we lost this year.”
The game ended the regular seasons for both teams. Howland hosts Akron Springfield at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the first round the Division I sectional.
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