Dillon leads Falls past Lakeview
By Doug Chapin
NEWTON FALLS
When Newton Falls junior forward Cody Dillon scored a field goal with four seconds remaining in the third quarter Friday night, it gave him 29 points for the game and gave the Tigers an 11-point lead over Lakeview heading into the final quarter.
The amazing thing was, the score was 42-31. Dillon had scored just two points fewer than the Bulldogs.
To Lakeview’s credit, Dillon was scoreless in the final quarter and the Bulldogs (7-7) got to within five points early in the period, but Newton Falls (11-2) shot 7-for-8 from the foul line down the stretch to gain the win.
“Tonight, Cody put us on his back when he had to offensively,” Newton Falls coach Roy Sembach said after his team’s 53-37 win. “He showed the player that he is, he showed his leadership.
“We stayed ahead the way we did through three quarters simply because of his offensive performance. Not only scoring, but also some beautiful passes.”
Dillon shot 8-for-15 from the floor and 10-for-12 at the line. He also grabbed eight rebounds. Falls was 15-for-29 (52 percent) on field goals and 19-for-24 (79 percent) on free throws.
Lakeview also shot well from the foul line, 13-for-17 (76 percent), but had a difficult time from the field.
The Bulldogs shot just 19 percent (11-for-57) with many of the misses coming on put-backs after offensive rebounds.
Lakeview held a 33-21 overall edge in rebounds with Brandon Bensing and Anthony Franco grabbing seven apiece. Austin Haines led the Bulldogs in scoring with 10 points.
“Somebody told me we shot 19 percent. They gave me the shot chart at halftime and all of the shots were in the paint,” Lakeview coach George Lanterman said. “If the stats were correct we out-rebounded them offensively 20-2. Those are all things that make Lakeview basketball click. Those are the kids going out and playing hard.
“Some nights they just don’t go in and they didn’t go in tonight.”
Falls led 14-10 after one quarter and 27-19 at the half. It was the type of score Lakeview was looking for.
“We knew we needed to play that kind of a game, a physical game, a rebounding game, because they have a lot of skill,” Lanterman said. “We couldn’t match their skill so we needed to slow it down. If we made shots tonight, it comes right down to the end of the game.”
Sembach said the Tigers can play that style of game if necessary.
“We’ve really been emphasizing the defensive end of the floor,” he said. “That’s where we’ve not been as good as I’d like us to be this season.”