AKRON — Lucas ran out of magic in the Sweet 16.
The Cubs connected on just 10 of 22 free throw attempts and had their comeback bid fall just short in a 54-48 loss to Warren JFK in the Division IV regional semifinals at Firestone High School Tuesday night.
Coach Taylor Iceman’s squad trailed 44-28 late in the third quarter before injured senior Riley Gossom came off the bench to provide an offensive spark. Gossom, who suffered a serious leg injury in a preseason automobile accident, connected on a 3-pointer as time expired in the third to cut JFK’s advantage to 44-31 and drilled another triple 10 seconds into the fourth quarter to make it 44-34.
The Cubs (19-8) continued to chip away, eventually cutting the JFK lead to 48-46 when Logan Toms hit one of two free throws with 2:01 remaining. Lucas got a stop on JFK’s next possession and had a chance to tie or take the lead, but Gossom’s 3-pointer from the right wing was just off the mark and the Eagles came away with the rebound.
JFK extended the lead to 50-46 on a pair of T.J. Harden free throws with 37.9 seconds to play.
But Ethan Sauder sank a pair of freebies with 33.3 seconds left to make it 50-48. That’s as close as the Cubs would get, however, as the Eagles made 4-of-6 free throws in the final 26 seconds to put it away and advance to Friday’s regional championship game.
“I told the kids they have nothing to hand their heads about,” Iceman said. “It’s tough because we fought back and got so close and had so many missed free throws.
“It’s a testament to our kids and who they are. Most teams would have quit, but we battled and gave ourselves a shot.”
The Eagles (13-4) scored the game’s first 10 points before Andrew Smollen hit a foul line jumper with 3:32 left in the opening period. The Cubs closed the quarter on an 8-3 run and trailed 13-8 going into the second period. JFK led 25-20 at the half.
“Obviously we didn’t want to start out with a 10-0 run,” said Sauder, who scored nine of his team-high 14 points in the second half. “We go in at halftime and we’re down five and we said that was a good thing.”
Lucas trimmed JFK’s lead to 27-24 on a pair of Lane Harper free throws with 6:29 to play in the third quarter, but the Eagles went on a 17-4 burst over the next six-plus minutes.
Senior standout Cam Hollobaugh, who was held in check during the first half, scored 12 of his 15 points in the third quarter, including eight straight. His conventional three-point play with 58 seconds left in the period gave the Eagles a 43-28 lead.
“We switched to zone and got a couple quick stops. We just gave them a different look,” JFK coach Mark Komlanc said of the game-changing third-quarter run. “I really only wanted to do it for three possessions.
“I think we might have done it for five, but we got two or three quick steals and got us out running.”
Gabe Green matched Hollobaugh for game honors with 15 points. Freshman forward Jaden Rishel added nine.
Logan Toms backed Sauder with seven points. Gossom, Smollen and Harper each had six.
“We fought as hard as we could,” Sauder said. “I’m glad we worked so hard every day in practice. I’m going to miss it.”
