INDIANAPOLIS —
Uncharacteristically, Lapel turned the ball over 21 times Wednesday night against Cardinal Ritter in the Bulldogs’ regular season finale. Coach Jimmie Howell agreed it was quite a sloppy game on both sides of the ball.
“We were trying to play too fast, and we are not that type of team,” Howell said. “When we took our time after our passes, our shots were OK. But too many times we shot too early.”
Lapel, however, survived its gaggle of turnovers and a late Raiders rally to escape with a 50-48 win.
The Bulldogs were up as much as 14 points with six minutes left before the Raiders made a comeback. After Ritter’s Alex Parrett completed a 3-point play, he then hit a 3-pointer to bring the score within eight. Lapel’s Matthew Conrad was able to hit two free throws to stretch the Bulldogs’ lead, but the Raiders refused to quit.
Ritter forced three Lapel turnovers on three straight possessions. The Raiders cut the Bulldogs’ lead to three at 48-45 when Lamont Hawthorne connected from beyond the arc with 38 seconds left. Ritter then began fouling to put Lapel on the free-throw line to extend the game. The Bulldogs didn’t take advantage, missing five of the last seven free throws attempted.
Ritter was able to connect on another 3-pointer to trail by only one point with nine seconds remaining. A quick foul sent Brady Cherry to the line, and he made one of his two free throws to give the Raiders some hope. After the inbound, a Ritter player heaved up a 3-pointer for the win but fell short of the iron to secure a victory for the Bulldogs.
“Their pressure affected us. It’s just disappointing to turn the ball over like we did and miss those late free throws,” Howell said.
Although the Bulldogs were shaky on offense, their defense was what won the game. Ritter was poor from the field, shooting 34 percent (19-of-55) and only connecting on 17 percent of their 3-pointers (4-of-23).
“We really couldn’t afford to get into foul trouble with our lack of depth tonight and did a decent job with our zone defense,” Howell said. “Our game plan was let them shoot 3-pointers.”
Lapel started off hot, running to an 8-1 early first-quarter lead. They never trailed in the game. After a 6-2 run by the Raiders, the Bulldogs took control and finished with a four-point lead at the end of the first. They added two to their lead by halftime and extend it by 12 come the end of the third.
Lapel’s Drew Norton finished with a team-high 12 points, followed by Andrew Gibson with 10.
With the win, Lapel has won 11 of its last 12 games.
“We are going to get our legs under us and rest to be ready to play Frankton for the sixth times in two years,” Howell said.
Lapel squares off against Frankton on Tuesday at Lapel. If the Bulldogs are looking for a good omen, they have defeated Frankton five times in a row, including twice this year by an average margin of 17.5 points.
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Lapel's Drew Norton scored 12 points in Wednesday's 50-48 win at Indianapolis Ritter. Don Knight
Discussion
Bulldogs overcome turnovers, rally
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