By By ADAM FISHER / Niles Daily Star
Niles gave Coloma head coach Josh Hood a gift for his 27th birthday Wednesday. In fact, the Vikings gave him 10 gifts.
That's how many times the Vikings turned the ball over in the final quarter of a 52-45 loss to the Comets in the championship game of the inaugural Niles Holiday Classic.
In the consolation game, Brandywine lost 78-44 to Lake Michigan Catholic. The Bobcats remain winless on the year at 0-6.
Coloma…..52
Niles………45
For Niles, its miscues came a critical times in a close ball game. Trailing 43-42, the Vikings turned the ball over five times in the final minute and a half. Coloma turned all five mistakes into points to claim victory.
The Vikings turned the ball over more times in the fourth (10), than they did in the first three quarters (nine).
Hood, a Niles native, also gave credit to his zone defense, something the Comets hadn't used this season.
Coloma had to overcome a slow start offensive to catch up to Niles in the first quarter. The Comets started the game shooting 1-of-11 from the field and 3-of-12 in the opening period.
Niles had troubles of its own to start the game, missing its first six shots. The Vikings didn't score their first field goal until three and half minutes into the game. Coloma didn't get hit its first shot until 4:12 remaining in the period.
After trailing 9-4 in the first quarter and 9-6 at the end of the period, Coloma hit 7-of-11 shots in the second period, taking its first lead at 16-15 after a 3-pointer by Tyler Lavanway.
The biggest shot of the first half, however, just happened to be the last. Niles had the ball up 21-20 with 40 seconds remaining in the second quarter. With 10 seconds left, Lavette' Walker missed a shot Parks said he wasn't supposed to take.
Coloma's Jermaine Murphy grabbed the board with four seconds and got the ball upcourt to Milo Jeffries. Jeffries took two dribbles and launched a 30-foot shot that rattled in at the buzzer to give the Comets a 23-21 lead at halftime.
Still, the Vikings had a shot at winning in the final minutes. A basket by Nick Etzcorn put Niles up 42-41 with three minutes left in the game. But turnovers and crucial 3s from Lavanway put the Vikings away. Niles wouldn't score again until a desperation 3-pointer from Tommy Robson at the end of the game when it was too late.
Because of Coloma's zone defense, Niles was forced to keep the ball around the perimeter most the game and shoot 3-pointers. The problem was, the Vikings struggled to hit them, shooting 4-of-16 from behind the arc.
Etzcorn led the Vikings with 17 points. He also added 10 rebounds to complete a double-double.
Coloma (52) - Tyler Lavanway 7-11 4-5 22, Jermain Murphy 3-4 0-0 6, Dwan McKinney 0-0 0-0 0, Terrell Evans 5-13 0-0 11, Milo Jeffries 4-13 2-5 11, Deanthony Head 0-0 0-0 0, Erving Warren 0-0 0-0 0, Casey Weber 0-0 0-0 0, Jake Bover 0-3 0-1 0. Totals: 20-44 6-10 52.
Niles (45) - Nate Orr 1-2 0-0 2, Scott Quaye 0-0 0-0 0, Tom Robson 3-6 2-2 9, Nate Parks 1-6 0-0 3, Brandon Thomas 3-7 0-0 7, Nick Etzcorn 8-15 1-1 17, Peter Brandstatter 0-1 0-0 0, Lavette' Walker 3-11 0-0 7. Totals: 19-48 3-3 42.
3-point shooting - Coloma 6-13 (Lavanway 4-8, Jeffries 1-1, Evans 1-4), Niles 4-16 (Robson 1-3, Thomas 1-4, Walker 1-4, Parks 1-5, Orr 0-1). Rebounds - Coloma 26 (Murphy 9), Niles 29 (Etzcorn 10). Fouls (fouled out) - Coloma 11 (none), Niles 19 (none). Turnovers - Coloma 16, Niles 19. Records - Coloma 4-1, Niles 4-2.
LMC……………..78
Brandywine…..44
Much like Coloma in the championship game, Lake Michigan Catholic struggled early against Brandywine in the consolation game of the holiday tournament. But after taking a 15-8 lead into the second quarter, the Lakers steadily increased their advantage, winning 78-44.
LMC shot 6-of-17 in the opening period, including a 1-of-7 start. The Lakers missed their first four shots from the field. Head coach Wayne Stefanich attributed the slow start to playing two games in as many nights.
Brandywine struggled shooting all night long. The Bobcats shot 27 percent from the field in the game, hitting 14-of-52 shots, including 7-of-31 in the second half.
Particularly woeful for the Bobcats was the third period. Trailing by a surmountable 11 points to start the quarter, Brandywine was outscored 26-12, as the Lakers jumped ahead to a 56-31 lead.
The Bobcats shot 2-of-17 in the quarter, and LMC hit eight of its 13 shots.
For Sidenbender, the main difference in the game was the physical play of the Lakers.
LMC outrebounded Brandywine 48-31 in the contest.
Matt Beaver led the Bobcats with 10 points against the Lakers. Mike Nagy and Zach Bennett added eight each, and Justin Ely scored seven in the game. Eight Bobcats scored in the game. All 10 of LMC's players scored at least four points in the game.
Brandywine hit 14-of-24 free throws, while LMC hit 20 of its 26 shots from the line.
LMC (78) - Garrett Ashbrook 5-10 0-0 10, Elliot Berlin 0-0 4-4 4, Evan Brown 2-3 0-0 4, Thomas Theisen 4-7 2-5 11, Paul Kaminski 2-7 1-1 5, Mark Curtis 2-4 4-4 8, Matt Curtis 3-6 0-0 7, Zach Brookes 3-6 2-2 9, Dan Caban 2-4 3-3 7, Sean Heenan 5-8 3-7 13. Totals: 28-56 20-26 78.
Brandywine (44) - Mike Nagy 2-7 4-5 8, Matt Wieger 1-5 0-0 2, Adam Prescott 1-6 0-0 2, Zach Bennett 4-5 0-1 8, Justin Ely 2-4 2-2 7, D.J. Elrod 0-6 1-2 1, Bill Bussey 1-6 3-6 6, Matt Beaver 3-8 4-8 10, Brett Shoemaker 0-5 0-0 0. Totals: 14-52 14-24 44.
3-point shooting - LMC 2-5 (Brookes 1-1, Matt Curtis 1-2, Mark Curtis 0-1, Ashbrook 0-1), Brandywine 2-15 (Bussey 1-3, Ely 1-3, Nagy 0-4, Wieger 0-2, Prescott 0-2, Elrod 0-1). Rebounds - LMC 48 (Heenan 13), Brandywine 31 (Bennett 6, Beaver 6, Shoemaker 6). Fouls (fouled out) - LMC 20 (Kaminski, Mark Curtis), Brandywine 16 (none). Turnovers - LMC 19, Brandywine 15. Records - LMC 5-2, Brandywine 0-6.