Heath boys grind past Lakewood for outright LCL-Cardinal championship
HEBRON ― Just 10 seconds into the game at Lakewood on Friday, Heath senior Ben Mason drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing.
Not long after, classmate Will Robertson and junior Preston DeVito followed suit from nearly the same spot.
It looked like the Bulldogs were well on their way to wrapping up the Licking County League-Cardinal Division title. But in this roller coaster of a season, nothing has come easily.
The patient Lancers, limiting possessions and playing sticky defense, hung around until midway through the third quarter before Heath (16-5, 12-3) finally tucked away its third league championship in the last five seasons with a 37-27 victory.
"It felt good getting out like that, but then we thought we could ride it a little too much and got a little lazy," said Mason, who had eight points, three blocked shots and two assists.
Said Robertson: "It gave us a false sense of confidence."
The Bulldogs led 17-10 early in the second on sophomore Jordan Kaminsky's fadeaway jumper, but Lakewood (6-16, 2-13) persevered. Troy Martindale found Garrett Hardway for a foul-line jumper, then scored off a loose ball. When senior Kolin Watson nailed a three from the left wing, off an assist by classmate Adam Crawford on senior night, the Lancers were down 20-17 at the break.
"Our kids did a heck of a job buying into the game plan," said Lakewood coach Dan Shackleford. "That (the long possessions) gave us the best chance to win. Heath shoots like 18 of 19 three-pointers a game, and we wanted to run them off the line and make them shoot tough twos, but we had a couple of miscommunications there early. They didn't have a three in the second half."
Like it did in Tuesday's win against Johnstown that clinched at least a tie for the title, Heath leaned on its defense in the second half, allowing just two third-quarter field goals. A pair of driving layups by junior Jaxon Duston, and DeVito's rebound basket early in the fourth forged a 31-21 lead, huge in a low-scoring game. Then, senior Brayden Bayles helped finish it off by scoring on a couple of drives.
"We had to be really disciplined on defense but still get out on them and play our game," Robertson said.
Added Mason: "In a game played at that speed, even if you're up 8, they can get back in it on a couple of possessions. So we had to stay with our 'A' game."
DeVito's 9 points and 8 each by Mason and Duston, who snagged five rebounds, led the Bulldogs, a solid 15 of 29 from the field for 52%. Kaminsky had two assists and Josh Jones came off the bench for two.
Martindale with 10 points was the only player in double figures, as Lakewood went 11 of 27 from the floor for 41%. Crawford had four rebounds and two assists, and Colton Ferry also had four boards.
"They (Heath) knew they had a fight on their hands, and our kids fought their butts off," Shackleford said. "We just couldn't make as many shots as we needed."
It's been quite the journey en route to this title. Heath started the season with a disappointing home loss to Marion-Franklin. The Bulldogs righted the ship and nearly came back to beat defending Cardinal champ Northridge on the road, but back-to-back league losses, including a surprising one at home to Utica, appeared to put their championship hopes in jeopardy. However, they've strung together six straight victories, including a revenge win against Northridge, and got some help when Johnstown knocked off the Vikings.
"We kind of let it slip away with the Utica loss, so we just had to come out, play as hard as we could and put everything we had into it the rest of the way," Mason said. "When we beat Johnstown, it really hit home that we at least had clinched a tie."
Robertson said the Utica upset made the Bulldogs more determined.
"We still had everything in our control. We just had to stay focused and do what we do best," he said. "When we beat Johnstown, we were happy, but we still wanted to make it (the title) our own."
Coach Devin Fulk said he believed Heath could knock Northridge off its perch if things fell right. The Bulldogs returned nearly everyone from last year.
"Split with Northridge, and get some help," he said. "When we beat Granville early in the year, you're thinking, maybe we can do it. Then when we came back at Northridge gave us some confidence. The Utica game created a sense of urgency, and there was still some doubt, but what a credit to these guys. Remarkable credit to them."
Heath has packed a lot into the last six weeks.
"As of Dec. 23, we had still played only four games," Fulk said. "So since Dec. 23, we've basically played a full season."
Now the Bulldogs finally get a little rest, getting a week off before welcoming Bexley on senior night next Friday. They host Pleasant in their Division III tournament opener on Feb. 27.
"We've had no break since Christmas break, so this will be nice," Mason said. "But then we have to get back to work. We still have a lot to play for."
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Heath boys grind past Lakewood for outright LCL-Cardinal championship
