RallyNorth.net

Upset bid falls short

LAWRENCE — If only Lawrence could have sustained their first half performance Friday night.

The Lancers played a tremendous first half against unbeaten Lowell and led 37-25 heading into the break. Unfortunately, the second half was not as productive as the Red Raiders (17-0) charged back to claim a 64-63 victory.

Trailing 64-58 with 1:56 left to play, Lawrence scored the last five points of the game and had two chances to score the game-winner in the final nine seconds but were unable to get off a good shot.

"I'm really proud of how hard our kids played today and we were just one possession from winning," said Lawrence coach Jesus "Moose" Moore, whose club dropped to 12-5. "We were really locked in during the first half and I  think we showed we can compete with anyone when we're playing well.

"But we got a little stagnant in the second half and we just need to be more consistent. That's been something we're working on."

In that first half, the Lancers played excellent defense on Lowell' backcourt, moved the ball well and got great balance offensively. Jeremiah had 12 of his game-high 20 points in the first half, Angel Herrera chipped in with nine, Brandon Goris had eight and Noah Tejada six.

The momentum shifted quickly in the third quarter, however, as Lowell started pressuring the ball more, forcing eight turnovers, and went on a 13-0 to get back in the game. Only two free throws by Goris at the end of the period kept Lawrence ahead, 47-46.

"We needed to buckle down on defense and I thought we did that in the third quarter," said Lowell coach Bob Michalczyk. "I thought we gave them some trouble and that got us back in the game."

The fourth quarter was nip-and-tuck until sharpshooting Lowell guards Ritchie Etienne and Nate Siow hit successive 3-pointers to provide the 64-58 lead. A nifty drive and a 3-pointer from Goris for Lawrence to within one, but they just couldn't get a good look for their final shot.

"We're happy to get this win and I think it's going to help us," said Michalczyk. "Lawrence is a tough place to play."

For Lawrence, Melendez was superb, hitting four 3-pointers aned was 5 for 8 from the floor, Goris came on strong late to score 18 and Herrera finished with 12. Tejada wound up with eight points and Moore credited him for holding ace Lowell guard Carlos Nunez to 10 points.

"We had a lot of positives but we took our foot off the pedal a little and that cost us," said Moore.

but we got a little stagnant.

"Give Lowell credit for coming back — they're a great team — qneffo