Lakewood Boys Lose Heartbreaker in Overtime

In what would seem to have been a mismatch, the boys’ basketball team was anything but overmatched.

 They came into Friday night’s Northeast Ohio Conference matchup against Elyria with a record of 3-11, while the Pioneers came in at 10-5.

In their last contest with Elyria, the Rangers were pounded in an . If last night’s game was any indication, Rangers’ head coach Phil Argento and his squad have come a long way earlier in the season, despite facing plenty of adversity.

“We try to look at each game on an individual level," he said. "Are we getting better? I’d say yes. Our defense was an important part of the night, we tried to drop (down low) more, and give more help on the big guy.”

The big guy that Argento referenced was Elyria’s hulking 6’6” power forward, senior Chase Farris. He will be headed to Ohio State University on a football scholarship; Farris starred for the Pioneers as a defensive end. Last night, Farris certainly looked the part, dipping past and bullying through various Rangers on his way to a team high 26 points.

In the end, Farris helped to tip the balance in Elyria's favor, helping the Pioneers pull out the victory, 74-67.

When the Rangers trailed by 12 early in the second quarter, the game looked like it was getting out of hand. The Rangers swung the game back to within five, but let up before half, and trailed 39-27 heading into the locker room.

In the second half, Lakewood made things interesting when sophomore Pete Nelson hit the third of his five three pointers to close within 46-42. Nelson paced the Rangers with 26 points, including the five threes and the Rangers’ full five points in overtime.

“Several of our guys are improving their games. Nelson’s been shooting real well, he hit some key shots down the stretch,” said Argento after the game. In the Rangers last game, a blowout loss against top ranked Garfield Heights, Nelson poured in 32 points.

The Rangers continued to hang tough, tying the game at 52 with 7 minutes remaining in the game on a field goal from junior Devin Goddard, and took their first lead with Nelson’s three pointer that sent the home crowd into a frenzy. Goddard finished off the scoring in regulation with a monumental three pointer with :27 left in the fourth quarter. Both teams had several attempts, but nothing fell, and the teams headed to the extra frame.

In overtime, Elyria took advantage of a limited rotation of players for Lakewood, and finished off the Rangers. Joining Nelson’s scoring barrage were senior Chris Bielopetrovich, and junior Conor Mabry, who finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Although some players hung their heads after the defeat, hindsight will allow the Rangers to hang their hats on this effort on their road to improvement.

                                Q1          Q2          Q3          Q4          OT          FINAL

Lakewood           16           11           19           16           5                67

Elyria                     21           18           13           10           12             74