It was a good news, bad news week for Lake Orion Baptist basketball.
Tuesday, the Lions came within 17 seconds of earning a win in their first Fundamental Baptist Athletic Conference game of the season. But the Lions, who once led 12-0, missed a potential game-tying shot with 17.2 seconds left and fell to Bethany Christian of Troy, 45-41.
The Lions broke out to the 12-0 lead and still led 15-9 by the end of the first quarter, then led 25-14 at halftime.
The Bruins, who outscored the Lions 14-6 and trailed by just three, 31-28, at the end of the quarter, took a 43-41 lead with 17.2 seconds left in the game. The Lions set up for the game-tying bucket, but their shot rolled around, then off the rim. Bethany Christian’s Jono Gromow was fouled on the rebound, made both shots and sealed the win for the Bruins.
Sophomore Brad Watterworth led the Lions with 11 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked nine shots, his third triple-double of the season. Pont guard Treavor Halleck chipped in nine points, one rebound and three assists, whileJames Noruk added nine points, eight reboundes, four assists and three steals.
Other contributions for the Lions came from Matt Cameron (six points, seven rebounds, three steals), senior Chris Hojnacki (four points, two rebounds) and Conner Welby (two points, both on free throws). Greg Thomas led the Bruins (4-2) with 13 points.
Things went a little easier for the Lions on Friday. Hosting Rochester Hills Christian in an FBAC game, the Lions built a 10-point lead, then held on for a 59-52 win over the Eagles.
After building a 13-11 lead in the first quarter and then a 26-24 edge at halftime, the Lions scored 17 third-quarter points for a 43-33 lead headed into the final period.
The foul-plagued Eagles (they had two players foul out and three others with four fouls) couldn’t hold off the Lions, who shot 23 free throws in the fourth quarter alone. The Lions scored 20 points from the free throw line.
Two Lions scored double-doubles. Matt Cameron scored 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to go with five steals, three blocks and three assists. Watterworth had his fourth double-double of the year, scoring 11 points and grabbing 13 rebounds along with six blocked shots.
Treavor Halleck led the Lions with 14 points and had four rebounds and five steals. Noruk had 13 points, two rebounds and three steals, while Chris Hojnacki had six points, five rebounds and three steals for the Lions (3-1 overall, 1-1 FBAC). D.J. Szydlowski led the Eagles (1-1 FBAC) with 23 points.