Jake Antolick scored 32 points and led a spirited, fourth-quarter comeback that allowed Lackawanna Trail to take third-place Susquehanna into overtime Jan. 22 before falling short 47-46 in the Lackawanna League Division 4 boys’ basketball game.
Tucked between losses of 59 points to Division 3 member Riverside and 33 points to Division 4 champion Blue Ridge, the Lions took their best shot at pulling out a victory in what became a winless January.
Antolick scored 10 of the points during the 12-5 fourth quarter that Lackawanna Trail used to get the game into overtime. He also scored the team’s only basket of the extra session.
J.T. Burke, who matched Colton Stone for a team-high 18 points, hit a 3-pointer in overtime to lift Susquehanna to the win.
The Sabers had trouble securing the victory, missing all four of their free throw attempts in overtime.
Lackawanna Trail went 0-10 during January and had its losing streak reach 13 games when it fell to visiting Montrose 66-36 Feb. 1.
That defeat left the Lions at 0-9 in Division 4 and 2-16 overall, last in both the division standings and the District 2 Class 2A playoff seeding race.
January recap
The Lions were outscored by an average of 63.8-38.7 during January. They were more competitive at home, including the Susquehanna game and a 54-46 loss to Forest City Jan. 5. … Antolick scored 15 points and Ethan Gorton had 10 in the league opener Jan. 2, a 68-33 loss to Blue Ridge, which has since gone on to repeat its title. … Antolick (16), Jimmy Phillips (14) and Gorton (10) all scored in double figures during the eight-point loss to Forest City. … Antolick (16), Phillips (13) and Sean Langley (10) scored in double figures during the highest offensive output of the month during a 69-50 loss at Montrose Jan. 8. … Antolick finished the month averaging more than 15 points per game and opened February with 15 points, including nine in the third quarter, during the loss to Montrose.
