The LO men’s basketball team led almost the entire game at Stoney Creek on Jan. 13.
But a 3-pointer with less than 10 seconds left in the game by Creek’s Ben Taormina capped an improbable comeback, and sent the Dragons home with their first OAA III loss 58-57.
Sophomore Drew Maynard scored 16 for the Dragons and junior Ross Tonyan added 15.
The Dragons (6-1 overall and 1-1 in the league) led comfortably throughout the first half and took a double digit advantage into the locker room at halftime, 35-25.
In fact, the Dragons didn’t relinquish the lead until there were less than five minutes left, when a Creek 3-pointer gave the hosts a 49-48 lead.
But Tonyan’s consecutive lay-ups put LO back up by two with under a minute left.
That set the stage for Taormina’s big shot. The 3-pointer was the Creek senior’s only field goal of the night.
The Dragons had a few seconds left, but never got a shot off before the horn sounded.
Fortunately, the start of the week was a bit brighter for the Dragons, who beat Lakeland 52-44 in a non-league game.
Maynard led the team with a game high 23 points as the Dragon’s broke open a halftime deadlock and held on with a strong 4th quarter.
The Dragons return to league action and finish up a home and home series at Ferndale on Jan. 20. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.