CLINTON TWP. — Following three straight last-place finishes, Lackawanna Trail played itself into a late-season, second-place tie in Lackawanna League Division 3 boys basketball.
On the final day of January, the Lions were on the verge of assuming sole possession of second place when they built a six-point lead over visiting Mountain View as the midway point in the fourth quarter approached.
With Jackson Gesford leading the way, the Eagles recovered to score 15 of the game’s final 18 points to escape with a 47-41 victory and sole possession of second place.
“I just think that we didn’t take care of the ball as well in the second half,” Lackawanna Trail coach Ben Domiano said. “Too many turnovers. We kind of let them off the hook by catching and taking jump shots when there was no one in front of us.
“The game plan was when we got the ball in the middle of the floor, take the ball to the basket and make them defend us.”
The Lions went more than four minutes without scoring in the middle of the fourth quarter.
Gesford finished with 19 points and six assists to lead Mountain View. He had seven points, two assists and a steal in the run over the closing run, which took less than 4½ minutes.
Hudson Bain scored the basket that got it started and produced five of his 12 points in the fourth quarter. Ziggy Bradford had 11 points, six in the fourth quarter, and 11 rebounds.
Lackawanna Trail was led by Jake Antolick with 15 points and Lucas Filipek with 10.
Antolick and Filipek were responsible for the Lackawanna Trail lead. Antolick scored eight points and Filipek hit a 3-pointer to keep the Lions within 13-11 after one quarter.
Bain opened the second-quarter scoring, but Lackawanna Trail scored the last nine points of the half for a 20-15 lead at the break.
Sean Langley had all six of his points in the quarter and Filipek added another 3-pointer.
It was on the other end, however, that Filipek, a 6-foot-3 freshman, made an impact.
Filipek drew two charges, wiping out a basket and getting a third foul on Bain, along with grabbing four defensive rebounds. One of those rebounds came when he both blocked and controlled a shot.
“He’s a force when he’s in the right spot,” Domiano said. “He’s a tough kid. He’s a very energetic kid.”
Five-game win streak
The Lions were much improved over the 38-game Lackawanna losing streak they brought into the season, but were just 5-7 overall and coming off a loss to seventh-place Susquehanna Jan. 9.
From there, Lackawanna Trail embarked on a five-game winning streak, coming with a shocking, 50-39 victory over Elk Lake, handing the division-leading Warriors their only league loss in the first month-plus of the season.
“Jimmy Phillips went down two days before, in practice, with a knee injury and basically, I was left with two freshmen in the starting lineup,” Domiano said.
Hayden Bluhm, the freshman who was added to the lineup, added 13 points to Antolick’s 15.
The Lions held the Warriors scoreless in the second quarter to erase a nine-point deficit and move in front 21-20.
“Our approach was to slow it down, take our time and take good shots,” Domiano said. “They jumped out 10-nothing and then, we held them scoreless in the second quarter.
“Bluhm stepped up as a freshman and played a great game. Jake Antolick played a great game. I could go right down the list. They all played well.”
The Lions added to the streak over the next two weeks, winning at Montrose (54-50), handling Forest City (53-33), beating Carbondale (43-39), then adding a victory at Blue Ridge (61-50).
Antolick finished with 27 points and Lackawanna Trail rallied in the second half against Montrose.
Bluhm scored in double figures in all three games of Phillips’ absence.
Filipek scored a team-high 15 points against Forest City.
Antolick and Filipek scored 13 points each in the win over Carbondale.
Lackawanna Trail rallied in the fourth quarter and won in overtime over Blue Ridge in a meeting of teams that came in with four-game winning streaks.
Filipek had 17 points and Antolick 16.
Notes
Lackawanna Trail finished the month 7-3 in the division and 10-8 overall.
“It’s been a humbling experience,” Domiano said. “We have a freshman class that came in and wanted to work real hard. We have senior leadership and the kids worked real hard in the offseason.”
The Lions were 6-3 in January with the other win coming Jan. 2, 61-40 over Blue Ridge. Lackawanna Trail took a 20-4 lead after the first quarter of that game.
Antolick is leading the team in scoring with more than 16 points per game.
