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GARFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio– Practicing just four times and playing one game in the last month was worrisome for Lorain coach John Rositano and his team heading into Wednesday night’s Division I, Northeast 6 district semifinal game against Garfield Heights.
The Bulldogs made the game come down to the final seconds after a second-half comeback effort, but Seth Wilson sealed the 64-58 win for the Titans with a steal and free throws.
FINAL: Lorain 64, Garfield 58. Seth Wilson gets a steal and layup to seal the win for the Titans.
They advance to the district championship Saturday night against St. Ignatius. @SportsKee1 pic.twitter.com/7huCALKIqR— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) March 4, 2021
“It’s huge but at the same time we know the job isn’t done,” Wilson said on advancing to another district championship game. “We know that there’s a lot more basketball we can play and we’re not going to be satisfied.”
With the win, Lorain will travel to No. 2 seeded St. Ignatius for a shot to advance to the regional stage.
With 20 seconds remaining, Lorain held a three-point lead. That’s when senior forward Aden Brown made the defensive play of the night. As Garfield’s Marcos Vazquez caught the ball on the wing, Brown was able to get a hand on his shot, leaving the Titans with the ball and putting Wilson back on the free-throw line.
He’d make one of two attempts, putting the game out of reach with four seconds left.
“That play was just pure instinct,” Brown said. “We’re always told to close out hard and that’s what we’re supposed to do. But it was just pure instinct, I just thought I can get the ball so I jumped up and blocked it.”
Lorain’s Aden Brown with a block on the possession prior, setting Wilson up for a FT to give the Titans a 4-point lead with 4 seconds left. pic.twitter.com/hgZY1rO0fg
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) March 4, 2021
Seth Wilson led the way for Lorain with a game-high 24 points. De’Vante Jackson added 16 points along with 11 coming from Jamir Billings.
For the entire first half, the Titans were able to build and maintain a lead over the Bulldogs and took a 27-20 lead heading into halftime.
Opening the third quarter on an 8-0 run on top of that, Rositano’s team held a 15-point lead–the largest lead of the game–with just under five minutes left in the quarter. Pressure defense and turnovers were a big part of a sluggish start to the second half for Garfield, not scoring a point for nearly four minutes.
Sonny Johnson Jr didn’t score a point, as he battled some pain in the third quarter and left the game with 54 seconds left where he wouldn’t return.
With the junior guard out, Garfield turned to Makail Cunningham and Tyler Jackson to help spark a comeback.
That they did.
They combined for 13 of the team’s 17 third-quarter points and faced a seven-point deficit heading into the fourth quarter.
Tyler Jackson’s 3-pointer at the buzzer still has Lorain with a 44-37 lead heading into the 4th Q. pic.twitter.com/ZLerMhNxLG
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) March 4, 2021
The Titan lead got as high as nine points early in the fourth, but the Bulldogs kept chipping away. Eventually, Cunningham knocked down a 3-pointer that got them within three with just over four minutes left in the quarter.
Makail Cunningham sinks a 3-pointer and the Bulldogs are within three with 4:09 left in the 4th Q. pic.twitter.com/ZXE233zLCv
— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) March 4, 2021
A Tyler Jackson layup with just under one minute left tied the game at 58 apiece and that’s as close as the Bulldogs got to a comeback. A turnover on their next possession was the start of a 6-0 run to end the game for the Titans, with four points coming off of free throws.
Tyler Jackson had a team-high 20 points and nine rebounds for the Bulldogs. Tavian Tatum scored 13 points along with Makail Cunningham’s 13 to round out the scoring.
The win for Rositano puts them in the district championship game for the seventh consecutive season. It’s a win that comes from experience. With seven seniors all contributing on both ends of the floor, Rositano credits the way his guys handled adversity late in the game.
“The seven seniors played like seven seniors,” he said. “We made some mistakes but we never lost our composure when we made a mistake.
“We’re excited,” he continued. “I just told them that I don’t think our opponent matters. If we play well, we know we can beat anybody.”
