Pickin' Splinters

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Lyons outlasts Avon in battle of state-ranked squads

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Lyons improved to 11-2 on the season with a 51-45 victory over host Avon in a battle of state-ranked teams. (Photo: PAUL GOTHAM)

By PAUL GOTHAM

AVON, N.Y. — Four days after suffering a second setback of the season, Lyons boys’ basketball took the court Tuesday night facing a rare possibility.

Tipping off against unbeaten Avon (No. 6 NYSSWA Class B), the reigning Section V Class C3 champions looked back-to-back defeats square in the eyes.

The Lions didn’t flinch.

“We needed that one,” said Lyons head coach Dean Schott II. “We had a bad one on Friday.”

JJ Johnson registered a double-double, and Lyons held off a pair of rallies from host Avon for a 51-45 victory in non-league action.

“They kept their heads today,” Schott said. “We have a tendency to lose it once in a while. Today, as they crept back, we kept preaching to stay calm; keep doing what got you the lead in the first place. That’s what we did.”

With three defenders extending beyond the 3-point arc, Lyons limited Avon’s impact on the perimeter and held the Braves 18 points under their season average of 63.3 points per game.

“We wanted to take their three best players away from the three-point line with two helpers,” Schott explained. “Our big guys were in help position at all times. We were going to let them drive a little bit, and then JJ and Zavien (Horn) were going to be there to affect whatever was going to happen.”

Avon managed just four 3-pointers on the night – two in each half.

“Their guards were quick, and they’re physical,” Avon head coach Rob Fries said. “They did a good job on our guys. We didn’t knock down the shots that we have earlier in the year. They did a nice job taking away some of the stuff that we’ve been accustomed to getting.”

On the offensive end, Lyons got off to a quick start.

Stephen LeBrecht connected on a triple and scored five points while Johnson added four of his 14 points in the opening six minutes as Lyons jumped out to a 15-2 lead.

Avon rallied in the second.

Ryan Hillman converted on an inbound play. Trevor Stroud connected on a baseline jumper. Josh Harter led Michael Rowland into the open floor for a layup. Then Harter set up Connor Smith for two more.

The Braves pulled even briefly at 25-25.

“We knew they would be good,” Fries said. “We know how good they are, how big they are and how physical they are. We did what we wanted to do defensively. We just didn’t get as many rebounds as we wanted. Offensively, we struggled.”

Lyons led 36-33 after three quarters of play before using a 10-4 run to open the fourth.

LeBrecht and the 6-foot-6 Johnson scored in the lane on back-to-back possessions for a 46-37 advantage. In both sequences, the Lions had several opportunities before capitalizing at the rim.

“The big kid inside, he’s impossible to move,” Fries said. “We didn’t do a great job of rebounding down the stretch. That hurt. We gave them a lot of second and third opportunities. Eventually, they’re going to make one or we are going to foul them.”

Johnson had 12 rebounds in the game. LeBrecht matched Johnson with a team-high 14 points to go with six rebounds. Dez Bell had six points and six assists.

Despite playing with early foul trouble, Mikey Briggs accounted for seven points, five rebounds and two assists. The senior guard was whistled for his second foul with 7:53 to go in the second quarter. His third infraction came little over a minute later.

With Lyons clinging to a 46-43 lead with less than three minutes remaining in the game, Briggs connected on 3-of-4 from the free throw line to put the game out of reach.

“I could never say enough about him,” Schott commented. “Nobody plays harder than that kid. I tell him that all the time.”

Lyons, (No. 21 NYSSWA Class C) improved to 11-2 with the win.

The Lions are 121-13 with three sectional titles over the past six seasons under Schott.

Avon fell to 12-1.

“We’ve played a really tough schedule,” Fries said. “I didn’t think we’d be at the point where we are right now. I told our guys early that it’s going to be tough to win all these games. We get tested, and we’ll be better for it down the road.”

Avon’s Stroud finished with a game-high 15 points. Rowland added 13. Hillman scored eight, and Connor Smith had four points. Harter handed out six assists.

LYONS 
Mikey Briggs 1 5-8 7, Darius Wood-Asberry 0 0-0 0, Dez Bell 2 0-0 6, Zavien Horn 1 0-0 2, Devyn Williams 0 2-2 2, Stephen LeBrecht 6 0-0 14, Jaheim Morris 3 0-0 6, JJ Johnson 5 4-8 14 TOTALS 18 11-18 51

AVON 
Josh Harter 1 1-2 3, Michael Rowland 6 0-0 13, Kalman Dolgos 1 0-0 2, Brody McDowell 0 0-0 0, Trevor Stroud 6 0-0 15, Ryan Hilman 4 0-0 8, Connor Smith 2 0-2 4 TOTALS 20 1-4 45

LYONS 17 10 9 15 — 51
AVON 8 17 8 12 — 45

3-point goals — Lyons 4 (D. Bell 2, S. LeBrecht 2); Avon 4 (M. Rowland 1, T. Stroud 3) 

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