Rally capped
Osowski beats buzzer with 3-pointer as LaPorte makes 20-point comeback, edges Lowell
Drawing up a last-second shot in the huddle is easy enough.
The hard part is executing the play the way it’s designed. It rarely works out as intended.
LaPorte’s final play in its 53-51 victory Tuesday at Lowell was the exception.
Senior guard Ethan Osowski hit a 3-pointer from the corner at the buzzer off a perfect pass from RJ Anglin, capping a rally for the Slicers (2-7), who trailed 29-9 in the second quarter.
Osowski’s basket came after senior forward Chris Mantis, who finished with 24 points, had made a pair of free throws that put the Red Devils (6-4) ahead by a point.
LaPorte used Anglin, a 6foot-2 sophomore guard, as a decoy. Anglin, who finished with 12 points, had made two 3pointers in the fourth quarter. LaPorte coach Kyle Benge figured Lowell would be focused on him.
Anglin took the inbound pass and sprinted down the middle of the court while Osowski, who finished with 10 points, flared out to the right corner.
Mantis, who was guarding Osowski, moved toward Anglin as he started to approach the 3-point line. Anglin whipped the ball to Osowski, who let the shot fly.
It was perfect.
“I knew he (Mantis) was going to go out there,” Osowski said. “He came back to get me, but I just pump-faked and shot it.”
Osowski called the shot “amazing.”
Grant Ott-Large, a 6-3 junior forward, was an offensive force for LaPorte.
He finished with 17 points and six rebounds. He kept it close in the third quarter, when he scored eight points.
The Slicers tied the game for the first time at 40-40 with just over six minutes left on a basket by Ott-Large. From that point, it was a game of lead changes.
Anglin put the Slicers ahead 50-49 with 25 seconds left after he stole a Lowell pass in the backcourt. He was fouled going up for a layup and made both free throws.
Benge said it could be a big win for his team’s confidence. The Slicers have struggled with a difficult schedule.
“I thought we just kept grinding,” Benge said.
LaPorte seemed to get fired up after Benge got called for a technical foul in the second quarter. He was upset after two charges were called on his team.
“I normally don’t do that,” he said. “I thought it might get our guys energized.”
It did. The Slicers cut a 20-point lead down to 12 by halftime.
They plugged away even more in the third quarter by making Mantis work extra hard for his shots. He scored just two points in that quarter. Mantis, who was averaging 28.7 points entering the game, finished 7 of 19 from the field.
Lowell coach Joe Delgado said the Red Devils have to finish games.
“I think it’s on us,” Delgado said. “We have to make sure our guys aren’t letting up.”