Lisbon holds off Columbiana for 47-40 ITCL win

The Blue Devils hit 10-of-14 free throws in the final quarter.

By CHUCK HOUSTEAU

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

COLUMBIANA — There wasn’t much that Lisbon coach Jamie Entrikin was happy about in the Blue Devils’ 47-40 victory over Columbiana Monday night.

“It wasn’t a thing of beauty,” Entrikin said of the Inter Tri-County League Tier One contest. “The kids played hard enough to win it and we’ll take it.

“We haven’t won here in a long, long time.”

The win also keeps the Blue Devils (7-1, 4-1) one game behind league-leading South Range. The two rivals meet at Lisbon on Thursday in the top matchup of the first-half of ITCL Tier One play.

“We’ll have to play a lot better than this on Thursday to make a run at [South Range],” Entrikin said.

The Blue Devils did what all good teams do to close out a game and the Clippers seemed helpless to overcome the final five minutes of the contest.

Lisbon knocked down 10 of 14 free throws in the fourth period and took care of the basketball to put away a determined Columbiana team.

“We showed a lot of poise out there at the end,” Entrikin said. “We took care of the ball at the end and worked it around.

“The three kids that got to the line are all very good free throw shooters and they got the job done,” Entrikin said.

Erica Snoddy made four free throws while Megan Reynolds and Emily Smith each made three.

The Devils were leading 39-34 with about five minutes remaining when Entrikin decided to spread the floor and make the Clippers come out and foul to get the ball back.

“We weren’t attacking well with our regular offense,” Entrikin said. “So we did what we had to do to get a win.”

The Devils made their final eight free throws to put the game away.

Lisbon didn’t get off to a good start and Columbiana took it to the Devils in the first quarter.

Behind the strong play of senior Katie Douglas, who was honored before the game for becoming the all-time rebounding leader in Columbiana High history with 460 rebounds, the Clippers opened up a 12-6 first quarter lead.

Lisbon got back in the game by ratcheting up the defensive pressure in the second quarter.

The Blue Devils full court zone trap forced Columbiana into 13 second-quarter turnovers and Lisbon gained control of the lead with a 14-2 run.

Columbiana (3-4, 2-3) regrouped and regained the lead, 25-24, at the break.

After keeping the game close through the third period, Lisbon’s defense and some strong 3-point shooting by Smith enabled the Devils to take over the contest.

Smith finished with three 3-pointers and 20 points.

Snoddy added nine points and seven rebounds for Lisbon while Reynolds tallied seven points.

“Their pressure was the difference,” Columbiana coach Jeff Hammond said. “We kept trying to get back in the game but we couldn’t get over the hump.

“And when we had to put them on the line they made their foul shots.”

The Clippers were led by Douglas who had 14 points and six rebounds.

Katie Witmer added eight rebounds and six points.