By Alex Forrest
Review Intern
The Lake Orion High School Special Olympics basketball team put on a great show Feb. 26.
The Jardon Crusaders traveled from Lapeer to LOHS to battle the Dragons.
The Dragons started out with a 3-pointer from returning Olympian, Sammy Taromina.
‘Coming back to play with the team is very special to me,? said Taromina.
Although the Dragons started out strong, it wasn’t enough in the end, with a final score of 41-28 in favor of Jardon.
‘It’s hard to be on the losing end when we’ve worked so hard for so long,? Taromina added.
At the end of the first quarter, the Dragons were in the lead 15-11.
‘We were up in the first quarter and then we just lost it completely,? said athlete Tom Strauss.
Jardon started out the second quarter with three baskets, while the Dragons began lagging behind.
‘We just didn’t play good defense today and that’s all there is to it,? added Strauss.
After senior Zach Hudson hit a 3-pointer and a lay-up, Lake Orion almost caught up.
Jardon outplayed the Dragons to bring the score to 27-20 at the end of the half.
At the start of the third, Taromina hit a big three, bringing the Dragons score to 23 points.
‘My performance was good, but we just couldn’t get the stops tonight,? Taromina said. ‘We just couldn’t get any intensity after the start of the third quarter.?
The students and fans showed great support for the team.
Lapeer’s Jardon Crusaders were up by 11 at the end of the third quarter with a score of 37-26.
The fourth quarter went by fast with no scoring until there were three minutes left on the clock.
After two buckets from Jardon, the game came to a close.
‘Jardon is very good defensively and they truly out-played us tonight,? said Taromina. ‘It may be because we’re a very young team this year, but nonetheless, I think we are playing well and if we improve our defense by the time the state competition comes, we’ll be ready for them.?
The Leadership class at the high school scheduled different activities in-between each quarter.
There were performances by the varsity cheerleading team, varsity dance team, the Showstoppers, and also various relay games.
‘It was a lot of fun to play in front of 3,500 fans,? Strauss added. ‘I can’t wait to go to states now.?
The basketball team practices every Thursday at the CERC building, but can use as many volunteers as they can get.