The Milan News-Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
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Shorthanded Big Reds fall to Pirates
Big fourth-quarter run by visitors hands Milan 10th loss
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: January 17, 2008
At home against Napoleon Monday night, the shorthanded Milan boys' basketball team once again took a heavy favorite almost to the wire. Once again, however, the favorite escaped.
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The Pirates entered the game sporting a 7-1 record to Milan's 0-9. But with four minutes to play in the game, the visitors nonetheless found themselves in a 40-38 dogfight in which neither team had led by more than four points after halftime. Unfortunately for the Big Reds, those last four minutes would be all Napoleon, as the Pirates went on a 13-2 run and won going away, 56-43.
"We're down two, and all of a sudden I look up and we're down 11," head coach Jeremy Davies said of his team's frustrating fourth quarter. "It's heartbreaking, to feel the game is in your grasp and then it gets ripped away."
Milan started the game brightly, using a pair of three-pointers to stake themselves to a 10-2 first-quarter lead, but Napoleon responded with a 13-0 run spanning the end of the first quarter and start of the second for a 15-10 advantage with six minutes left in the half.
This time it was Milan's turn to respond, with a Demetries Love basket sparking an 8-0 spurt capped by Paul Irwin's twisting lay-up to put the Big Reds up 16-15 with 2:28 remaining in the half. Napoleon would eventually retake the lead going into the break, 20-18.
Two minutes into the third quarter, Brandon Duval connected on a three-pointer to put Milan back up 23-22, the first of what would be six lead changes in a frantic four-minute stretch.
But perhaps the biggest play of the period came with five minutes to go when the Big Reds — already playing without injured starting center Erik Gunderson and with a roster of only eight players — lost replacement center Cody Chatfield as well to what appeared to be a knee injury.
"That was a blow to us," Davies admitted afterward. "Cody's our player who plays his hardest every game, who brings the energy I think we've been lacking. So that hurt."
Despite the setback, Irwin's free throw with 10.5 seconds left in the period sent Milan into the fourth down 32-30. The Big Reds would cut the lead to a single point, 38-37, on Zach McGovern's three-pointer with 6:08 to play.
But Milan struggled to slow down the Pirates on the defensive end and was never able to retake the lead. Love's free throw with 4:21 left brought the Big Reds within 40-38, but the Pirates would score the next nine to give them an 11-point lead, their largest, with 2:30 to play.
McGovern scored on Milan's next possession to stop the bleeding, but Napoleon answered right back with a basket and Lance Smith's three-point attempt with 1:48 to play was blocked, effectively sealing the Napoleon victory.
The Big Reds finished the fourth quarter outscored 24-13, and Davies admitted that with his team down to seven players by game's end, fatigue could have played a part.
"That could certainly be a factor," he said. "But the concern I have is with our lack of enthusiasm and energy when we're in the game. We're a 0-9 team playing a 7-1 team, and we're down two in the fourth quarter, and we still didn't have the intensity I want to see.
"The guys certainly haven't quit. The effort is there. We've just got to have more intensity."
Milan will look to break into the win column Thursday at home against New Boston Huron at 7 p.m.
Airport 77, Milan 65
Playing without Love, who missed the game with a sprained ankle, the seven-man Big Reds battled the Jets on the road Friday but fell to 0-5 in Huron League play.
McGovern scored 11 second-quarter points to keep Milan within striking distance, 34-28, at halftime. But the Jets scored 25 third-quarter points to stretch their lead to 14 entering the fourth and even Duval's 11 points in the fourth-quarter weren't enough for Milan to come all the way back.
McGovern finished with a season-high 28 points to lead the Big Red charge. He was followed by Duval with 16 points, Irwin with 12, Smith with 4, Chatfield with 3, and Joe Ewer with 2. Irwin totaled six rebounds and four assists while Chatfield added two blocks.
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