Lanier powers Howland rally

January 15, 2011 at 12:09a.m.

POLAND

Against Howland on Friday, the Poland High boys basketball team twice jumped out to double-digit leads and was poised for a runaway victory.

Both times, the Tigers responded with strong surges powered by steals and clutch shots.

With a minute remaining, T.J. Lanier’s turnaround jump shot gave Howland its first lead. Then came a Lex Bennett bucket, two free throws by Dontea Dawson and another by Lanier to cap the Tigers’ 60-56 comeback victory on the Bulldogs’ court.

“This is so big,” said Lanier who added that this was his first victory over Poland in his three varsity seasons. “That’s all we’ve been doing, preparing for Poland. This is like our top goal. I’m so happy.”

With time ticking down, Bennett’s basket had everyone’s heart pounding. Ahead 55-54, the Tigers (6-4, 2-0 All-American Conference Red Tier) took five shots and missed. Bennett pulled down the fifth carom rebound and put it in for a three-point edge.

As the Bulldogs (6-2, 1-1) searched for an opening, the Tigers’ Josh Davis stole the ball from Drew Wagner and passed to Dawson who was fouled. His two free throws all but sealed Howland’s win.

When the buzzer sounded, Lanier said he “felt so much adrenaline just pumping, I felt real good.”

The 6-foot-5 senior, who finished with 21 points and eight rebounds, came close to missing a lot of what he called his biggest varsity win. Lanier had to sit most of the first quarter after taking two personal fouls in the first two-and-a-half minutes.

“T.J. Lanier did a great job in the second half,” Poland coach Ken Grisdale said. “They knew who their star was and he got going, got their momentum and got them feeling good about themselves. He’s a difference-maker.

“And Dawson inside started playing well down the stretch.”

Dawson finished with 10 points, five rebounds and a block. Brendan Cope also scored 10.

The Bulldogs opened up a 20-10 lead early in the second quarter. Bennett netted six of his 11 points during the Tigers’ 14-7 run that shaved the Bulldogs’ margin to three at halftime.

“If we could have gotten a couple of more baskets,” Grisdale said of a lost opportunity. “I saw their heads starting to hang a little bit and they were turning the ball over.”

Instead, the game remained nip-and-tuck.

Wagner’s 3-pointer in the third quarter gave the Bulldogs a 40-30 lead. But before the quarter had expired, the Tigers went on a 10-3 run.

“We had it back up to eight at 48-40,” Grisdale said. “You can’t turn the ball over.”

About the comeback, Lanier said, “We had to stay focused, keep our heads up to be aggressive and get rebounds.”

Patton led the Bulldogs with 21 points while Colin Reardon chipped in with 13 points, nine rebounds, a block and three steals.

“Patton is quick on his feet and hard to stop on the drive,” Lanier said. “Colin, he can score [from anywhere]. We’ve got to get better on the help defense and we’ll be all right.”

Grisdale suggested that sometimes the Bulldogs’ speed takes off too much.

“We try to play fast and at times we’re going way too fast,” Grisdale said. “You can’t fault their effort but it’s the execution that’s killing us.

“These kids play with an unbelievable amount of heart and effort but they’ve got to start matching it with the knowledge that we’re looking for — taking care of the basketball, knowing what a good shot is.

“I think we’re a decent basketball team, I think we’ll make noise as the season goes on,” Grisdale said. “I think we’re going to regret what we did tonight because we had a chance to get into the driver’s seat early on and I think we feel that we gave one away.”