SEASON ENDS IN
HEARTBREAKING FASHION
by: Quinn Sweeney
The Lake City Tigers were held scoreless over the final 4:07 and it proved costly in a 54-53 season ending loss to Pine Island at the Mayo Civic Auditorium.
Austin Gilles opened the scoring with a jumper from the left elbow, but the Panthers countered with four quick points. Drew Swanson then hit a pair of free throws to tie the score. The Panthers then hit two more jumpers to assume their largest lead of the game at 10-6 with 14:13 remaining in the first half.
The Tigers then cranked up the intensity and rattled off 18 unanswered points, holding the Panthers scoreless for 8:41. Andrew Pyle scored six of his career high 14 points during this stretch and Elliot Grimley and Travis Heitman each knocked down a three pointer. The Panthers countered with three points before Pyle added two more buckets to give the Tigers a big 30-13 lead with just 3:18 remaining in the first half of play.
The Panthers then answered with a quick 9-1 scoring spurt, knocking down four straight shots. Joe Beck scored on a move in the lane to give the Tigers a 33-22 lead at intermission.
“Our defensive lapse right before halftime provided Pine Island with a much needed momentum boost going into the half. Couple that with their solid offensive burst to open the second half and we found ourselves in a totally different game,” commented Coach Sweeney.
Things did not start off on the right foot for the Tigers in the second half, as the Panthers nailed a triple to cut the lead to eight points on the initial possession. Swanson hit a pair of free throws on the Tigers first possession of the half before the Panthers netted seven straight points to cut the lead to 35-32 with 14 minutes to play.
Pyle then put in his own miss to end the Tigers four minute scoring drought, but the Panthers answered with two buckets to cut the lead down to one.
After working the offense for nearly a minute, Grimley knocked down a three pointer from straight away to put the Tigers up 40-36 with 11:53 remaining. The Panthers pushed the ball quickly up the court and hit a jumper to slice the lead back to two.
From there baskets from Beck and Swanson pushed the lead to 44-38. After Jeremy McNamara buried a triple to cut the lead in half, Beck scored again and Pyle added another put back to give the Tigers a 48-41 cushion with 8:12 to play.
The Panthers then knocked down a jumper from the right wing on the ensuing possession and the Tigers missed three shots before the Panthers hit a trey to make the score 48-45 with 5:36 to play.
Then Grimley appeared to give the Tigers momentum back by nailing a triple from the right corner, giving Lake City a 51-45 lead with five minutes to play. The Panthers scored less than 10 seconds later to cut the lead back to four, before Swanson went to work in the paint, hitting a nifty bank shot to give the Tigers a 53-47 edge with 4:07 to play.
After getting a stop on the defensive end, the Tigers misfired on the ensuing possession and the Panthers nailed a jumper to make it a four point game with 3:04 showing. Gilles was unable to knock down a shot, and the Panthers collected the rebound and hit a triple from the wing to make it 53-52 with 2:18 remaining.
Lake City turned the ball over inbounding under their own basket with two minutes left and the Panthers took advantage, hitting a 15 footer from the left baseline to take a 54-53 lead. Grimley’s shot from the right elbow was too strong, and the Panthers collected the rebound with just under one minute remaining. After calling time out, Gilles and Grimley combined to force a jump ball with 56 seconds remaining, giving the Tigers the ball back.
On the ensuing possession a pass intended for Beck was stolen by the Panthers, who quickly advanced the ball up the court. They attempted a shot in the paint, which was swatted into the air and collected by Beck as the Tigers then called time out. With 21 seconds remaining and fouls to give, the Panthers reached in three times, as the clock dwindled to 12.7 seconds.
The Tigers set up a final play as Heitman took the ball on the wing. He took one dribble towards the baseline before being suffocated by the Panthers and a jump ball was called with 2.5 seconds remaining, giving the ball back over to Pine Island. A long heave down court was enough to allow the clock to expire, ending the Tigers season.
Pyle had a career game to pace the Tigers, as he netted 14 points, grabbed eight rebounds, dished out four assists and had two steals. Swanson had 13 points and five rebounds. Grimley hit nine points on three triples, while Beck added eight points and six rebounds. Gilles scored six points and grabbed nine rebounds, and Heitman rounded out the scoring column with three points.
The Tigers held a 36-24 advantage in the rebounding department and a 14-5 advantage in second chance points. The Tigers committed 11 turnovers to just four for the Panthers, and Pine Island parlayed that into a 10-2 edge in points off turnovers, which helped fuel the comeback.
“We had control of the game early and gave ourselves chances in the end, but we came up short against a team we had beaten twice during the regular season. Pine Island’s Jeremy McNamara had 28 points and Travis Landrum was limited to just four points, but Pine Island’s supporting cast scored 22 points and that was a huge factor in the outcome. This was a tough loss for our team and it will linger for some time,” said Sweeney.
Lake City finishes the season with a 16-9 record and will graduate six seniors off this year’s squad: Travis Bremer, Zach Brusse, Austin Gilles, Elliot Grimley, Travis Heitman and Andrew Pyle.
“Our senior class has been instrumental in providing the team chemistry necessary to provide many exciting games for the local fans. Their competitive attitudes and leadership will be missed,” added Coach Sweeney.
