Edgewood takes back win from Lakeside in under final second
Edgewood Athletics Director Steve Kray is pretty quick to let people know the Warriors boys basketball team is 6-0 since he started the “Silent Night” promotion, where the student section sits speechless until the team posts its first 10 points. On Wednesday night’s matchup with Lakeside, it may have been the final three-tenths of a second that rendered the entire gymnasium speechless.
Lakeside had taken its first lead since early in the game, with under 15 seconds to play. A jumper in the lane by senior Alex DiSalvatore sent fans into a frenzy and stunned the Warrior faithful, who had seen their team exhaust a double-digit lead in the final quarter. The Dragons, up 61-60, Edgewood senior Logan Kray playing in his third consecutive complete game, drove a layup in desperation as time nearly expired. The ball did not go in, but a miracle whistle with .3 seconds on the clock would send him to the foul line for a second chance at redemption. A short time earlier he had missed two free-throws, making him 4-for-10 on the night. In this moment, all that went out the window. Kray would drain his first shot to tie the game at 61 and then the second, enough for an Edgewood 62-61 victory, sending them to 4-1 on the young season.
DiSalvatore led all scorers with 26 points, including six in the fourth quarter as Lakeside outscored the Warriors 20-11 to mount the comeback. Dyln Newsome and Aiden Hathy each knocked down critical three-pointers during the run, finishing with 11 and 13 points, respectively.
Kray battled his way inside to lead Edgewood with 21 points. A heavily-guarded Jacob Ernst scored 11 of his 17 points in the first half, draining two very important free throws in the fourth quarter (his only trip to the foul line all night).
UP NEXT: With several players out due to injury or illness, Edgewood does not catch any breaks ahead of Christmas. They’ll be back on the court Friday, hosting Pymatuning Valley. Lakeside, now 2-3 with two of its losses by only three-points or less, will travel to Chardon on Saturday to face the Hilltoppers.
SIDENOTE: This effort by his team is not lost on Edgewood Coach John Bowler. Days off the heels of a triple-overtime loss to Geneva, his banged up squad has had to exhaust its senior leaders, while finding some important minutes for younger players having to step in and fill roles. How long can they keep it up? Who knows, but he likes the way his players are leaving no stone unturned in finding ways to compete.
