JEROMESVILLE – The Hillsdale boys basketball team had been waiting more than a month to exact revenge against Waynedale.
The Golden Bears knocked off the Falcons 54-52 in Hillsdale’s season-opener, and the Falcons spent the bulk of the ensuing five weeks mostly winning games.
But after climbing into the Wayne County Athletic League title chase – buoyed by a massive victory Friday at Norwayne that snapped the Bobcats’ 34-game WCAL home win streak – Hillsdale fell victim to Waynedale again Tuesday night, 55-51.
The Falcons (8-5, 5-3 WCAL) led the Golden Bears (7-7, 4-4) by a 35-27 count with under three minutes left in the third quarter.
But Waynedale closed the period on a 10-2 run to tie it at 37-37 entering the fourth, then the Golden Bears scored 11 of the game’s final 16 points to apply the finishing touches.
“That was really a golden opportunity for us to come out of there with a win (and make up ground in the WCAL) and we just fell short,” Hillsdale head coach Ben Ferguson said.
“We seemed to get lost on defense at times and they hit some big shots,” he said. “They have good shooters and I give them a lot of credit for making the big plays.”
The Falcons couldn’t find their shot from the perimeter the entire night, going 2-for-15 from downtown – likely the fewest 3-pointers made in Ferguson’s three seasons leading the program.
Conversely, Waynedale connected on eight triples, with five of those coming from Braedon Lorentz (team-high 15 points).
The senior guard sank a trey with 2:29 left in the third quarter that pulled WHS within 35-30 and halted his team’s stretch of more than three minutes without a field goal.
Then in the fourth, his 3-point bucket from the top of the arc off a pass from Ernie Schmucker gave the Bears the lead for good at 48-46 with 3:24 to go.
“Just the way that we play this year, we shoot a lot of 3s, so we can score nine points in three possessions – just like that,” Waynedale head coach Dane Held said. “So sometimes when we struggle offensively, we’ve just got to keep attacking and being aggressive.”
The victory stretched Waynedale’s season-high win streak to four games and also improved the squad to 6-1 when it scores at least 50 points.
The Bears received 11 points each from Schmucker and Evan Yoder, helping them overcome a rebounding deficit of 32-19 for the game.
Held credited his squad’s defense for holding down Hillsdale.
“We just made it much more of a point of emphasis that we had to be committed to doing our jobs defensively,” he said. “I thought they bought in and they did their jobs.”
“We kinda knew that a game in the 40s or 50s was more our style, and if we were getting up to the 60s or 70s, (the Falcons) were probably winning that one.”
Hillsdale was missing junior wing Knox Lewis (12 points, 8 rebounds per game) due to illness, and another Falcons starter – senior shooting guard Troy Bennett – has been out the last seven games due to a high-ankle sprain.
Those absences had the hosts searching for scorers, and they didn’t find many, as junior Kael Lewis (21 points) and sophomore Lowen Ferguson (19) combined for 40 of Hillsdale’s 51 markers.
Lewis was the game’s grittiest performer in the second half, when he netted 17 points and pulled down nine of his game-high 13 rebounds.
The junior scrapped for nine points in the final 4:22 of the contest, adding a pair of putbacks off missed 3-pointers late to keep the Falcons close.
“(Lewis) is our workhorse,” coach Ferguson said. “He does so much on the floor, and just his energy alone (is big). He’s a real leader.”
Four days after a career-high 31-point game at Norwayne, Lowen Ferguson hit both of Hillsdale’s 3-pointers Tuesday and had 11 of his 19 points at halftime.
But the sophomore (also four assists) had multiple deep balls blocked and none of the Falcons could break through for a clutch 3-pointer in the fourth quarter.
Scoring was at a premium for Hillsdale in its first meeting with Waynedale as well. That night, Ferguson played through illness and managed just five points, and starting wing Hayden McFadden missed the game for the same reason.
It was the first time the Falcons have lost when holding a team under 55 points in Ferguson’s three years as a head coach (31-1 record in such games).
On Tuesday, Knox Lewis was the newest one out due to illness.
“Missing Knox is a big deal but the reality is we were right there,” coach Ferguson said. “I think with a little more attention to detail and focus, I think we would have won the ballgame.”
Held felt the Bears might have executed as well as they have all season, and he said they knew Hillsdale was coming in with a lot of confidence.
Now, the Falcons’ three conference losses (also 68-66 to Smithville in overtime) are by a combined eight points. They will need to make up more ground to be a factor for the WCAL crown.
The league-leading Smithies (12-3, 8-1) lost to Chippewa (9-6, 4-4) on Tuesday to help that cause, but Hillsdale might have to run the table over its final six conference games to be in play.
The last time the Falcons finished as high as second in the league was 2012 – one year after tying for their most recent league crown.
“We’ve gotta wear this one for a little while,” coach Ferguson said, “but at the end of the day, we do realize that the season’s not over and we’ve got a lot of basketball to play.”
The Falcons are back at it Friday when they travel to Northwestern (1-13, 1-8). Waynedale hosts Norwayne (8-6, 6-2) the same night.