By Don Eskins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Down but never out the Lockwood Tigers rallied late, on the road, to edge a very tough Marionville Comets 60-55 Friday night.
“This was really a great win for our kids. We knew coming in that after their recent tough loss to Diamond, and the fact that it was their Homecoming, that we’d be getting their best effort,” said Lockwood head coach Ethan Baker. “So we’re really happy to be going home with a win tonight.”
The Tigers traded buckets with the Comets throughout most of the game trailing Marionville 12-7 at the end of the first quarter and 27-24 at the half.
Seven Tigers found their way to the bucket during the first two quarters of play to keep pace with the Comets. Max Schnelle led the Tiger effort with seven points and was aided by Damien Jordan’s five.
Jordan Williams with eight points and Wyley Brown with five led the Comets.
The Tigers trailed the Comets 47-44 heading into the fourth and final period of play.
But with only 35 seconds left, and down 55-53, Lockwood’s Schnelle stepped to the line to drop in two free throws to tie the game up at 55-55.
Schnelle would put the Tigers out in front for good, 57-55, hitting two more free throws with only 28 seconds remaining.
For the Tigers, Schnelle’s cool performance at the line couldn’t have come at a better time.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
“The Comets were tough and we’d been trailing for most of the game,” Schnelle said. “But when I went to the line I was confident that I could make them and that we could win. I just wanted to help us get it done.”
Spencer Neal would seal the victory for the Tigers, scoring underneath and dropping in a free throw after drawing a foul to push the score up to 60-55, with just five seconds left in the ballgame.
Schnelle finished the night with 20 points. Also scoring in double digits for the Tigers were Blaine Garver (16) and Spencer Neal (13).
With the win the Tigers pushed their record up to 11-6 on the year and 2-0 in conference play. The Comets fell to 10-8 and 0-2 in conference.
Marionville’s Jordan Williams put on a shooting clinic for all those in attendance. The 6’1″ junior lit up the scoreboard for a game high 34 points. Twenty-six of those points came in the second half.
“This loss was tough,” said the Marionville’s Kale Bateman. “We just didn’t give each other enough help on defense and allowed them to penetrate. This loss was really tough for us, especially since it was a conference game. But we just need to get back to practice, work harder and get better.”
As for Baker, he couldn’t have been prouder of the effort shown by his kids.
“We knew they could shoot well and that they had the ability to extend the lead,” said Baker. “But our guys don’t quit and they’ve been resilient all season. They’ve come back from a lot of deficits all year, just like tonight, and I couldn’t be prouder.”
“We played hard, shot good from the free throw line and finished,” added Schnelle. “Tonight’s win feels great.”
The Tigers did shoot great from the charity line hitting 19 of 22 attempts for 86%.
Box Score
1 2 3 4 F
L: 7 17 20 16 60
M: 12 15 20 8 55
Leading Scorers
Marionville- Jordan Williams 34, Lake High 7, Wil Carlton 5, Wyley Brown 4, Blane Young 3, Kale Bateman 2.
Lockwood- Max Schnelle 20, Blaine Garver- 16, Spencer Neal 13, Damien Jordan- 5, Dylan Gallup- 3, Brayden Hamilton- 2, Gaege Queen- 1.
