‘We did it!’: Leland boys basketball program ends 59-game losing streak

Leland junior Ian Cameron had a special message to classmates Matt Grzanich and Mythys Pinnell as he prepared to shoot a free throw with 20 seconds left in Saturday night’s game against LaMoille at the Ashton-Franklin Center Thanksgiving Tournament.

“We did it!”

The Panthers defeated the Lions, 51-43, and in the process ended the program’s 59-game losing streak.

“To win for Leland High School ... it means everything.”

—  Leland's Ian Cameron

“I wanted to see the zeros on the scoreboard clock before I relaxed,” said Leland first-year head coach Pat Torman, who had been an assistant coach the previous two seasons. “I was so happy for all of them, especially those three juniors. They’ve played all three years, they deserved it, and they earned it.

“It was my first win as a varsity coach, but I was so happy for them I really didn’t think about that part until the next day.”

Leland led, 18-13, after one quarter, but trailed, 30-29, at halftime before outscoring LaMoille, 22-13, in the second half.

“It was a pretty even, back-and-forth first half, and we went into halftime down one,” said Torman, a 2003 LHS graduate who was a two-time All-Little Ten Conference basketball pick and a Special Mention IBCA All-State honoree his senior season. “It was great to go into the locker room at halftime and see the kids with energy coming off the court knowing that winning the game was in our sights. We talked about how we couldn’t just stop and be happy with one good half of basketball. We needed to start the second half strong, and we did with a 10-0 run.”

Sophomore Evin Hensley led the Panthers with 14 points, with freshman Gunnar Nelson adding 12 and Cameron chipping in 10.

“We really brought out the fire and the passion right from the start,” Cameron said. “We were playing with confidence, and that was something that was lacking in our first three games. Since my freshman year our teams have always given it everything we had and never given up. That’s not going to change this year, either.”

Before the 2018-19 school year, Leland and Earlville ended their 12-year athletics co-op agreement, and although the youthful Panthers won their opening game that season, they finished 2-28. Before Saturday’s triumph, Leland hadn’t won a game since topping Hiawatha on Dec. 21, 2018.

“I felt really good with where we were at after the first quarter on Saturday,” Pinnell said. “We came out with a lot of energy. Then coming out of halftime, we really started to take off and had a lot of momentum. I felt we played defense really well, and we actually ran the offense like Coach wants us to.

“The first three games I don’t think we played very well, and that’s because we weren’t doing the things we needed to. We still have a lot to get better at, and we are all committed to do that, but, man, was that bus ride home Saturday night fun.”

Leland opened this season with three straight losses.

“I’m going to be honest, I was thinking, ‘Here we go again,’ ” Grzanich said. “But we came out pretty strong in the third game [against AFC on Friday] and were leading for a while, but we just kind of ran out of gas. Then on Saturday everything just clicked ... it kind of felt like I was dreaming.”

Not unlike the three previous seasons since the co-op ended – and without a junior varsity team because of low participation numbers – the 2020-21 Leland varsity roster is packed full of underclassmen.

“Having a couple of seasons being the assistant under [former coach Chris] Abbott was a great learning experience, and I learned a ton from him,” Torman said. “Every kid on this team has been thrown to the wolves, so to speak, when they were freshmen. But the sophomores and juniors, and obviously not in the best way or time frame possible, have experienced what varsity basketball is like.

“The three juniors have all stuck with this, and I don’t know if anyone could have blamed them if they hadn’t, but they are doing a good job of leading things.”

So what kept Cameron, Grzanich and Pinnell – all saying they have had thoughts of “I’m done with this” in past seasons – coming back?

“I have now and had so many great teammates these first three years. There have been so many times I’ve either thought about quitting or told them that I didn’t think I was going out,” Pinnell said. “But they, and really everyone here at school, has just pushed me to stick with. I’m not going to lie, it’s been tough, but I’m glad I’ve kept playing.”

“These guys are like my family, and I’ve known most of them my whole life. ... I just couldn’t give up,” Cameron said. “We have potential on this team. Sure, we hadn’t won any games in who knows how long, and we are still a younger team, but I know this isn’t the only game we are going to win this season. No way.”

“I’ve had so many thoughts about giving it up,” Grzanich said. “But as bad as I felt sometimes, I just couldn’t do it, I couldn’t walk away. Ian and Mythys have been my friends since we were little kids, and I just felt like I needed to stay with it and hopefully it would get better.

“Well, Saturday night for sure was better.”

Leland (1-3) will be shooting for a second straight win Friday when the Panthers open the LTC season hosting Hinckley-Big Rock.

The last time a Panthers team earned a victory on Dick Inman Court was January 2006, but for now the boys that wear Kelly Green, White and Black are just enjoying the moment.

“I was going through a lot of emotions when [the win over LaMoille] was over, and to see all the guys’ smiles was awesome,” Cameron said. “I played on a travel team when I was younger and we won games, so I know what winning feels like.

“But to win for Leland High School ... it means everything.”