By Anthony Schulte
Review Contributor
MACOMB COUNTY — Lake Orion walked into Utica Eisenhower on Monday needing a win to move on in the District Five playoffs.
They achieved that goal by double-digits, 64-54 victory over Rochester High School.
Rochester got off to a hot start from the field, taking advantage of sloppy play from Lake Orion. The Falcons took a 9-2 advantage early in the first quarter. The Dragons then settled down and started hitting shots as the quarter continued.
Nate Havrilla erupted for two straight splash-down threes, bringing the offense together at quarter’s end. Orion and Rochester were tied 17-17 going into the second quarter.
The second quarter opened with Orion and Rochester trading threes.
Lake Orion hung with the Falcons to start, and toward the end of the first half they started to build their offensive attack, putting together an eight-point lead going into halftime, 36-28.
The third quarter started with Orion capitalizing off Rochester turnovers. The two squads were trading buckets when Eli Kalaj and Rex Matuod ended that streak, hitting back-to-back threes.
The Dragons were keeping Rochester within striking distance, however. The score going into the fourth was 45-40 in the Dragons favor.
Lake Orion started to break away in the fourth quarter, while foul totals began adding up for both teams. For reference, once a player commits five fouls in high school, they are ejected from the game.
Khammani Potts and Max Muhl of Rochester both fouled out, and Kevin Tobe fouled out for Lake Orion.
DJ Morrow committed his fourth foul with four minutes left to go in regulation. He ended up closing the game, thanks to smart rotations and substitutions by head coach Jose Andrades to help him stay away from that fifth foul.
The Falcons were climbing back into the game, but free throw conversions and a missed Rochester layup with 20 seconds left sealed a district semifinal berth for Lake Orion.
Morrow and Blake Liddell both led Orion with 16 points, while Quay Fly contributed 15.
Rochester was captained by Kalaj with 14 points, Muhl with 13, and Jake Tandy notching 12.
The Dragons closed out the regular season on March 2 with a 57-35 victory over Farmington, putting Lake Orion at 11-11 heading into playoffs against Rochester.
Lake Orion now faces Rochester Adams in the District Five semifinal on Wednesday at Utica Eisenhower High School.