by Ryan Mosher
After playing Loudonville Christian School twice this year, including their last game just ten days earlier, the New Lebanon boys basketball team was starting to get used to the Eagles’ style of play. In the last game, the Tigers stormed back in the second half, almost defeating the second place Eagles. On Wednesday night in the opening round of the Class D sectional tournament the Tigers picked up right where they left off. New Lebanon led the entire first quarter behind the hot shooting of guard Mike Gavrity. Gavrity scored 11 of the team’s 14 points in the first quarter, putting the Tigers in front 14-11 after one quarter.
Loudonville stepped up their defensive effort in the second quarter, holding the Tigers to just 5 points while they scored 13 of their own to take a 24-19 lead going into the second half. The third quarter was also a defensive stalemate for several minute periods at a time. The Tigers held Loudonville without a point for almost the entire quarter. New Lebanon had taken a one point lead on a jumper by Gavrity and then extended that to two points at 26-24 when he hit one of two free throws. But with :29 left, the Eagles’ TJ Duguid hit a jumper from the left side of the hoop to tie the game at 26-26 and then gave Loudonville the lead with :13 left when he connected on the exact same shot again.
In the fourth quarter the Eagles got up by as many as eight points, but the Tigers fought back, scoring a basket or creating a turnover when they needed it to keep the game close. In the last minute New Lebanon tried to get the ball back with fouls, hoping Loudonville would miss free throws, but the Eagles connected on 8 of 12 in the quarter and held the Tigers at bay. With :04 remaining, Gavrity drilled a three-pointer to make the game 44-41, but the Tigers could not get the ball back and fell to Loudonville 46-41.
Gavrity led the way for New Lebanon with 17 points, and Bryan Potter added 10 points, including 8 in the final quarter. The Tigers started the season rough, losing 6 straight league games at one point before turning around their season with a big win over rival Berlin and close games with CHVL Champions Heatly and Loudonville. First year coach Joe DiCicco said it was hard when he first arrived with the players adjusting to him and him getting used to them.
“When I got here I was told that they had never run a play before,” DeCicco said. “It took about a month for them to really get this new defense down, and they worked really hard at it. In my 18 years of coaching this has to be the hardest working team that I have had.”