Lakewood's St. Edward Boys Suffer Tough Loss

A tough road loss to the area's best basketball team has only fortified state championship hopes at Lakewood .

The Eagles battled to the last second at Garfield Heights on Thursday night, dropping an 85-82 decision that left visiting players and fans disappointed.

St. Edward coach Eric Flannery looked past the loss and said he still sees a bright future.

"This is what it is all about," Flannery said after the emotionally-draining game in front of a soldout gym packed with nearly 2,000 fans. "It was tournament preparation basketball at its best. If we are fortunate to win a district, and that is still a long way off, we might have the opportunity to play them again. It would be nicer to win that game."

Delbert Love scored 26 points to lead St. Edward (12-5, ranked 11th in Ohio), whose record has come against good competition from outside of Ohio as Flannery tries toughen his squad for tournament play. The Eagles will continue that trend Saturday night by playing host to Columbus Northland High School before concluding the regular season against traditional rival powers Cleveland St. Ignatius and Mentor.

The smaller Eagles kept scrapping throughout, but often were called for fouls in trying to stop the Bulldogs' big frontcourt. Garfield Heights won the game at the foul line, hitting 19 of 25 free throws. St. Edward sank 11 3-pointers, but was only 7-for-14 from the foul line.

The Eagles led at the end of each of the first three quarters, but were outscored in the fourth period, 20-15, by Garfield Heights (15-0, No. 8 in Ohio).

"Give credit to Garfield," Flannery said. "That was the best anybody has handled our pressure. They had 15 turnovers. We force 25 a game."

St. Edward committed six of its 14 turnovers in the final quarter, which began with the Eagles ahead, 67-65.

A key turnover by the Eagles' with 56 seconds to play enabled Garfield Heights to get the ball. Trailing, 82-81, the Bulldogs' Tony Farmer scored on a drive for an 83-82 lead. Garfield Heights had a golden chance to extend its lead, but Adam Barbour missed a dunk with 16 seconds left.

Confusion then reigned as Eagles fans screamed for a foul call. The officials ruled they blew the whistle inadvertently on the play, making it a jump ball situation and the possession arrow was in Garfield Heights' favor.

Barbour was then fouled by Love with 14.7 seconds left and made both free throws for an 85-82 lead.

The Eagles had trouble setting up their offense and a desperation 3-pointer by Brown missed everything as the Bulldogs and their fans celebrated the victory.

Flannery would not fault the referees. Instead, he pointed out how well the Eagles played in a hostile environment.

"I want this to make us better," Flannery said. "There's a reason why we play these games at this time of the year. We went toe-to-toe with them. It was anybody's game and I can live with that. Part of me likes to lose this one, to send a message of what it is like to lose. Believe me, I want to win every game. But the losing experience can be something to build upon."

Trey Lewis' 27 points led Garfield Heights. He scored 15 in the third quarter, including all 10 in a 10-1 run to start the second half that turned a 50-43 deficit into a 53-51 Bulldogs lead.

"He's the best guard in the area," Flannery said. "He handles the ball so well and showed how he can shoot the ball.

"I was a little nervous at halftime even though we had the lead because I thought he wasn't hitting his shots. He came out and did in the third quarter, but our guys responded right back."

Love scored 24 points in the first half. He hit three of the Eagles' nine 3-pointers in the first two quarters. Garfield Heights coach Sonny Johnson changed up the Bulldogs' defense in the second half to shut him down.

"I think Delbert shunned his shots in the second half, but a lot of it had to do with their defense," Flannery said.

Still, the Eagles led 74-69 with 4:40 to play after a steal and dunk by Love.

A three-point play by big Mike McQueen made it 74-72. McQueen, a 6-7, 265-pound senior, spun down the baseline and converted a reverse layup, was fouled, and made the free throw.

A layup by Mike Murray, who scored eight points, put the Eagles ahead 76-72, but Barbour brought the home crowd to its feet by hitting a 3-pointer from the left side to make it 76-75 with 3:37 to play.

With the teams tied at 78, it looked as if Farmer blew a golden opportunity for the Bulldogs by missing a dunk. Seconds later, however, he scored on a layup and free throw to put Garfield Heights ahead 81-78.

Hamilton countered on a drive, and after Murray had his shot blocked by McQueen, the Eagles' Brown tracked down the rebound and put it back up to score for an 82-81 St. Edward lead with 1:18 to play.

Then the Bulldogs closed it out.

Earlier, the Eagles won an exciting JV game, 63-51, behind 17 points by Kevin Boyer, 12 by Marsalis Hamilton and 11 from Royal Eddie.