:quality(70):focal(949x490:959x500)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/BOHO3AMLFVFVXM5IV4TVLDD4IQ.jpg)
JOLIET – All Lockport needed was more time.
In the final game of pool play in the WJOL Thanksgiving Tournament, the Porters trailed Lemont 46-36 early in the fourth quarter. Lockport ramped up its defensive pressure and chipped away at the lead, finally pulling to within one point with nine seconds left on a basket by Anthony Kosi.
Lemont’s Ryan Runaas (10 points) went 1 of 2 from the free-throw line with 5.5 seconds left, but a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Lockport’s Bryce Turner missed, and Lemont (2-1) walked away with the 56-54 win.
“We just ran out of time. We started a little slow and built a deficit that was just too much to erase.
— David Wilson, Lockport boys basketball coach
“We just ran out of time,” Lockport coach David Wilson said. “We started a little slow and built a deficit that was just too much to erase.
“We’ve only been together for two weeks, and we have a lot that we want to do that’s not installed yet. But we have already shown that we are going to be a team that keeps coming at you, and that’s great to see.”
The game was tight early, as Lemont led 12-9 after the first quarter. The Lemont transition game got going early in the second, as they went on a 13-2 run to start the quarter to build a 25-11 lead.
Freshman Zane Schneider had a pair of fast-break buckets in the stretch, while Ryan Runaas (10 points) had five points. Shea Glotzbach, who had a game-high 13 points to go with eight rebounds and six steals, had three points in the second quarter as Lemont took a 30-21 lead into halftime.
“We like to get a lot of points in transition,” Glotzbach said. “Even in our half-court offense, we want to move quick – get the ball at the 3-point line, drive and kick it back out. We don’t want to have the ball sit still. We also want our defense to be good so we can get fast-break points.
“This was a good game for us to show that we can stick in there and fight through when a team is trying to come back.”
Lemont built its lead to 38-25 midway through the third quarter, but again Lockport rallied, getting a pair of 3-pointers by Kosi and a bucket by Evan Dziadkoweic to pull to within 42-33. After a basket by Lemont’s Jackson Dierking off an assist by Simas Dyglys, Lockport’s Collin Miller ended the third quarter with an old-fashioned three-point play to make it 44-36 entering the fourth.
Lemont’s Alanas Castillo (nine points, five rebounds) started the final quarter with a basket for a 46-36 lead, but Lockport refused to go away. The Porters got a steal and layup from Joshua Ahrens, which was converted into a three-point play. After a bucket by Klaidas Paskauskas made it 48-39, Lockport scored the next five points on a putback by Ahrens, a free throw by Bryce Turner and a 3-pointer by Logan Cooper (12 points) to pull to within 48-44.
Castillo and Ahrens then traded a pair of free throws, and Schneider (11 points) scored off an assist from Castillo to make it 52-46. A 3-pointer by Miller cut the deficit to 52-49 with 1:45 remaining, and the Porters (1-2) tied it on a 3-pointer by Kosi with 1:15 to play. Lemont got a free throw by Glotzbach, a short jumper in the lane by Runaas and another free throw by Runaas to keep Lockport at bay.
“It’s early in the year, and we didn’t handle their pressure very well,” Lemont coach Rick Runaas said. “That’s something we are going to have to correct on the fly. We graduated five seniors from last year’s team, and we didn’t dip into the transfer portal like some other teams.
“We preach that all five players on the floor catch, dribble and shoot. Once we have the ball, everyone runs the floor. We aren’t looking for any one specific player. We are looking for whoever has the best chance to score.
“We trust whoever is out there.”