By Teddy Rydquist

Review Sports Writer

The Lake Orion Dragons boys’ basketball team defeated the Oxford Wildcats on Dec. 19 before Christmas break and picked up their first win since then by beating the Notre Dame Prep Fighting Irish, 51-41, on Jan. 14.

Moving back to .500 at 3-3 overall with the victory, the Dragons were hoping to carry the momentum into an Oakland Activities Association (OAA) Red showdown with the North Farmington Raiders at Lake Orion High School on Jan. 16.

Led by junior guard Nick Fisher’s 15 points, the Dragons kept the action close all night, but the Raiders ultimately prevailed, 54-45.

North Farmington had a 16-10 cushion after the opening eight minutes, but Lake Orion closed the second quarter strong to narrow the margin to 28-24 at the half.

Beginning late in the third frame, however, and continuing until about halfway through the fourth, the Dragons’ offense began to go cold, allowing the Raiders just enough space to leave with a win.

“We’ve struggled taking care of the basketball at times this season,” head coach Joel Schroeder said.

Known for their full-court pressure defense, North Farmington presented a particularly difficult task for Schroeder’s backcourt.

“We have had to start a lot of young guards, so it’s really been trial by fire. (We) Can’t simulate all this stuff in practice,” the coach said. “I’m happy with the way our offense is coming along, though, and some of our young kids. We just need one more impact player to step up and help us take better care of the basketball.”

Fisher, one of the young guards Schroder was referencing, was instrumental in keeping Lake Orion in the game in the second half, burying a trio of three-pointers.

“Nick’s been great,” Schroder shared. “He’s our point guard, has been our point guard since day one.

“We keep talking to him about expanding his offensive role and we’re seeing that work start to pay off. So, hopefully that can continue to grow, and we can have some of these other guys catch up, too.”

Senior Dylan Boedigheimer finished with 10 points, the only other Dragon in double-figures. Junior Brennan Jones and star senior guard Cam Sutton were held to five points each.

Junior Deon Hayes tallied a game-high 17 points for the Raiders and classmate Basheer Jihad added 13.

Standing at 3-4 overall (0-1 OAA Red), Lake Orion will now hit the road for consecutive games against the Bloomfield Hills Black Hawks (4-7, 0-3) and West Bloomfield Lakers (4-4, 1-1) on Jan. 21 and 24, respectively.

Result’s from the Jan. 21 clash with Bloomfield Hills were not available at the time of this article’s publication.