Bulldogs Hold On For Win

WHITE LAKE — When a team’s leading scorer is held scoreless for an entire game, it typically spells disaster.

However, when Brighton star Benjamin Kil was held to a goose-egg, his team still found a way to win a, 45-44, thriller against Lakeland in the first round of the KLAA tournament.

You don’t get to a 17-1 record without a little luck.

Lakeland had their chances, though. They led twice during the fourth quarter but were unable to capitalize off the Bulldogs poor free-throw shooting. Brighton shot a woeful 1-for-12 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, which alone nearly cost them the game.

“We’ve been shooting 75-percent as a team from the line. That’s been one of our strengths,” Brighton head coach Tony Sweet said. “I think our guys just got tired. I didn’t rotate guys well and keep guys fresh in the beginning of the game.”

Brighton senior forward Nicholas Schroeder, who led all scorers in points with 19, shot 1-for-5 from the line in the final quarter. With less than nine seconds left he had a chance to put the game out of reach, but failed.

Lakeland guard Cameron Kalinski grabbed the missed free-throw and ran down court with teammates. He fired a 3-point shot from the top of the arc that hit nothing but the ground.

“I would of liked to have seen us go the basket instead of shooting that 3-pointer,” Lakeland coach Bob Brugger said. “The clock was ticking. That one last second really affected the game.”

Lakeland trailed by double digits early on, but tallied on 19 points in the third quarter and took their first lead since the 6-minute mark of the opening quarter following two free-throws by Ty Bouwens with no time left. Bouwens has been fouled during a 3-point attempt as time whined down.

The Lakeland rally may have been sparked by Kil being say due to foul trouble. Then again, hitting some shots doesn’t hurt. The Eagles had previously struggled with lay-ups, 3-pointers, and jump shots before the start of their run. They shot 7-for-16 in the opening half but turned it around in the third quarter and connected on 6-of-9 shots. Lakeland had five players score in the quarter – in fact, those five were the only ones to tack on points for the team all game.

“A lot of that comes down to missing layups and free-throws …We missed six or seven lay-ups in the first half,” Brugger added. “You can’t afford to miss that many against a team like Brighton.”

“That's been a factor for us all year long. We're not a great shooting team. We have a lot of tough kids that are good athletes but were not natural shooters. Putting the ball in the basket has been very difficult for us.”

Lakeland forward Ryan Zukowski led the team in points with 14. He also added three steals. Joseph Rossie hit three baskets for the Eagles – all of them from beyond-the-arc – he finished with 10 points.

Jerry Evans, of Brighton, scored 10 points. Shane Dokey tacked on eight points while Jeffrey Dunatchik scored six.

The Eagles out-rebounded the Bulldogs 31-20. Lakeland’s Arndola Sanders grabbed 10 boards, six of them coming on the offensive end of the court

Brighton mostly ran a man-to-man defense, but at times would alternate to a full-court press. Their aggressive play helped them accumulate 13 steals and force numerous turnovers.

“It’s just one of those things. We’ve won a lot of games. This one looked like it was slipping away, we didn’t guard well Tonight,” Sweet added.

Brighton plays Walled Lake Northern next at home, while Lakeland will tip-off against the Howell Highlanders.