By Yaneek Smith
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
OAK HARBOR — Oak Harbor appeared to be in control.
But thanks to some key buckets late in the game, plus some stops on the defensive end, Lake found a way to eke out the victory and defeat the Rockets, 74-70, in a Northern Buckeye Conference showdown on Wednesday.
Oak Harbor (4-3, 3-2 NBC) led 53-47 with about six minutes to play following a three-pointer by Ethan Stokes, but Dylan Wiley and Caleb Tobias drained back-to-back triples, and the game was tied at 53.
Carter Behlmer hit a triple from the left corner to give the Flyers (6-2, 3-2) a 56-53 lead, but Stokes scored on a layup and Dan Allen converted a putback to give the Rockets a 57-56 lead with 3:31 to play.
After a pull-up jumper by Stokes gave Oak Harbor a 61-58 lead with 2:39 remaining, Behlmer hit another three from the left corner, tying the score at 61, and after both teams scored to bring the tally to 63-63, Behlmer hit yet another three from the left corner with 1:37 to play, giving Lake the lead for good at 66-63.
Holding a 68-67 lead with 58 seconds to play, the Flyers executed a screen on an inbounds pass on their side of the floor, freeing up Wiley for a backdoor basket that broke the Rockets’ back.
After getting the ball back, Tobias converted two free throws, but Stokes, who had a game-high 32 points, hit another three with 12.4 seconds to play, cutting the deficit to 72-70.
But Preston Snyder converted two free throws, and Oak Harbor’s final attempts at a three-pointer came up short, ending the game. However, despite all the shooting and scoring, it was won on the defensive end.
“One of our points of emphasis was to limit them to one shot,” Lake coach Luke Hickey said. “I think they got two in the first half and five in the second half.”
As you might expect, it was difficult guarding Stokes, a 6-foot-5 forward who can drive, dribble and shoot from anywhere on the floor.
“We always had to know where he was, no matter who was guarding the ball. He’s an incredible player,” said Hickey. “Our emphasis was to contest every shot, and he had to shoot over us. He’s a very good shooter.”
Both teams knew it was going to be a fight to the finish.
“We told the guys that the game was going to take 32 minutes,” said Hickey. “It was going to take 32 minutes to get a win.”
In the second half, the Flyers got out on the break a little bit more, leading to them getting some open looks from beyond the arc, especially in the fourth quarter.
“We made some adjustments,” said Hickey. “We didn’t feel like we were utilizing our speed enough. It’s such an unselfish group. We know about the value of passing up a good shot and getting a great shot.”
Snyder, who tied with Tobias for the team lead in points with 18, said his team’s athleticism played a major role.
“At practice, we like to race and get up tempo as much as we can. We hit some big shots — we work on getting shooters in the corner,” said Snyder. “We’re a very balanced team. Everyone can hit the shot, not just one guy. The four other guys can step up and shoot it.
“Even if we play badly for three quarters, we know most teams can’t keep up with us for four quarters.”
Behlmer scored nine points in the fourth quarter and Tobias finished with eight in the final eight minutes.
As a team, Oak Harbor made 12 3-pointers while Lake made seven from beyond the arc. However, Oak Harbor coach Eric Sweet said the Flyers caught fire in the fourth quarter.
“They’re a good shooting team,” He said. They had two threes in the first half, none in the third (quarter), but we couldn’t find them in the fourth,” Sweet said. “Behlmer hit three corner threes. The margin of error is so small.”
Sweet had high praise for Stokes, who scored 25 of his 32 points in the second half.
“He was unbelievable,” said Sweet. “In the second half, without him, we’re not in that game. I think he should’ve gotten to the line a few more times.”
With Lake holding a 40-31 lead at halftime, the Rockets came out and went on a 9-0 run that tied the score just over three minutes into the third quarter.
Behlmer scored inside to give the Flyers a 42-40 lead, but Carson Steinbrick, who had 18 points, all of them on three-pointers, drained a three to give Oak Harbor a one-point lead.
It went back and forth for the rest of the quarter as Jacob Ridener scored inside to give the Rockets a 48-46 lead heading into the fourth quarter, setting things up for the wild finish.
Behlmer finished with 15 points, followed by Wiley, who had 11, Travis Merrill, who finished with nine, and Jay Blazevich made a three-pointer for his only points.
Zach Hallett finished with five points, Ridener, Allen and Michael LaLonde had four points apiece and Carson Slates chipped in with three.
As good as shooting was from the arc, both teams shot poorly from the free-throw line as the Flyers made 11-of-20 (55%) from the charity stripe and Oak Harbor was just 2-of-6 (33.3%) from the line.
In the first quarter, Lake controlled the tempo and jumped out to a 15-8 lead before the Rockets rallied to cut the deficit to 25-21 on a three-pointer at the buzzer by Steinbrick. The second quarter saw Lake get out on the break a little bit while scoring on some drives to the basket.
