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Dragons win in return from layoff
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Niles’ Cameron Kane looks to make a 3-pointer as Liberty’s Lynn Bowden defends late the first half Tuesday night. Kane scored 30 points and Bowden led the Leopards with 32 in the Red Dragons’ 74-67 victory.
By Steve Ruman
NILES
To suggest that Mother Nature has played havoc with the Niles McKinley boys basketball schedule would be an understatement.
Prior to Tuesday night, the Red Dragons hadn’t played in 11 days, and their practice schedule has been hit-and-miss because of the recent snow and cold temperatures.
On Tuesday, much to the delight of Niles coach Ron Price, the Red Dragons showed little rust in a 74-67 home win over Liberty.
Niles and Liberty played to a tie at 11 at the end of the first quarter. However, the Red Dragons erupted for 27 second-quarter points to take a 38-23 lead into the locker room. Though the Leopards would make several second-half runs to get back within striking distance, they were never able to cut their deficit below seven points.
Cameron Kane led the Red Dragons (11-8) with 30 points. The junior scored 16 points in the decisive second quarter, and finished with eight 3-pointers. Garrett Pitts added 14 points, while Leonard Bryant chipped in with 11.
Senior Lennell Smith scored seven points, but was singled out by Price for his efforts on the boards. Smith ripped down a game-high 18 rebounds.
Liberty sophomore Lynn Bowden led all scorers with 32 points. Leslie Carter helped the Leopards’ cause with 14 points.
“I was real proud because we’ve been off for so long and we were going up against a team that has a lot of talent and that’s been in a lot of tight games,” Price said. “All things considered, we played a very nice all-around game.
“Our role players stepped up in a big way. And we generally struggle getting rebounds, so for Lennell to pull down 18, that was the difference.”
Niles maintained a double-digit lead throughout the third quarter, but Liberty came alive with a 28-point effort in the fourth period to get within seven on several occasions.
The late surge pleased Leopards coach Dan Bubon.
“Defensively, we played our best man-to-man of the year,” Bubon said. “Kane just hit some tough shots, some shots we wanted him to take that killed our momentum.”
“I loved our energy the second half. We never quit, and the kids know that with this kind of effort we can make a little run in the tournament.”
Because of earlier cancellations, both Niles and Liberty have a busy week. The Red Dragons play Thursday at LaBrae, then close the regular season Friday at home against Champion. The Leopards return to action tonight with a home game against Lakeview. They also play Saturday afternoon at Edgewood.
“It’s kind of a crazy way to end the season, but we’re anxious to get some games in before the tournament,” Price said.