By SCOTT NOVAK
Niles Daily Star

Host Niles led one get away Friday night and according to Vikings coach Todd Pawielski it was a bad loss.

The Vikings owned a 15-point lead in the third quarter still had a 12-point advantage heading to the fourth, but were outscored 22-10 in the final eight minutes as the Lancers forced overtime.

In the extra session, Lakeshore scored four points, while Niles managed only two in a 64-62 Big 16 Conference West Division setback.

Lakeshore grabbed the early lead and held a 13-8 advantage after one period of play.

But the Vikings exploded for 24 points in the second quarter, 10 better than the Lancers did and Niles had a 32-27 advantage at halftime.

The Vikings increased their advantage to 15 points midway through the third quarter and still had a 12-point cushion heading to the fourth.

Lakeshore was able to whittle away at the lead and eventually caught the Vikings late in regulation.

The Lancers led by one in the closing seconds when Nick Lucero hit one of two free throws to send the game to overtime.
Lakeshore thought it had won the game at the buzzer, but the officials ruled that the basket came after the horn and the two teams headed to an extra session.

“I thought Lakeshore played more disciplined than we did,” Pawielski answered when asked what was the difference in the final quarter. “Our shot selection when we were up 15 was very selfish. I also thought we stopped guarding people like we have been all year. I thought Lakeshore got a lot of easy baskets in the fourth quarter.”

Pawielski added that Lakeshore’s ability to execute was the difference in the end.

In overtime, Lakeshore took a 62-60 lead with 3:21 left on the clock on a basket by Hayden Davis.

Niles’ Myles Busby briefly tied the game at 62 with a pair of free throws with 2:41 showing on the clock.

The winning points came with 1:19 to play when Ryan Avery scored.

The Lancers had two chances to seal the victory, but missed four straight free throws in the final 13 seconds.

Lakeshore was able to grab the rebounds after the first two misses, but was unable to secure it the second time around.

Niles got the ball up the floor quickly and Busby’s shot with 2.4 seconds left was well off the mark.

Lakeshore’s Davis finished with a game-high 28 points, while Jordan Kauffman added 18 points.

David Garner led Niles with 16 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter.

Both Garner and Busby had to deal with foul troubles the entire game.

Busby added 15 points, while Matthew McLaughlin had nine, Austin Parks eight and Quintin Irby seven.

“I thought Quintin Irby came off the bench and did a nice job for us,” Pawielski noted.

LAKESHORE 64
TJ. Moneta 0 0-0 0;  Adrian Tatrault 1 0-2 2; Colin McKey 0 2-2 2; Lee Myers 1 0-0 2; Jordan Kauffman 8 2-7 18; Josh Lange 0 0-0 0; Loren Johnson 0 2-2 2; Hayden Davis 9 10-11 28; John Noel 0 1-4 1; Jordan Avery 4 1-2 9. TOTALS: 23 18-30 64
NILES 62
Matthew McLaughlin 3 2-2 9; Zak Prenkert 0 0-0 0; Myles Busby 4 7-9 15; Nick Lucero 2 3-4 7; Mitch Peterek 0 0-0 0; Justin Potthoff 0 0-0 0; David Garner 6 4-4 16; Austin Parks 2 34 8; Quintin Irby 3 1-2 7; Riley Robson 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 20 20-25 62

Lakeshore 13 27 38 60 64
Niles 8 32 50 60 62
3-point baskets: Lakeshore 0, Niles 2 (McLaughlin 1, Park 1). Total fouls: Lakeshore 21, Niles 26. Fouled out: Garner (N).