The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Warriors fast-break way to win
Martin Lowry stole the show with a 14-point fourth quarter, propelling host Fairview past Clearview, 73-59, in a Patriot Athletic Conference matchup on Feb. 16.
With the score even at 45 heading into the fourth quarter, Lowry, a sophomore, found himself in the perfect spot, waiting at half-court as his teammates swarmed Clearview each and every time they tried to take the ball up court. The Warriors’
pesky hands did their job, and Lowry took off running for a handful of easy lay-ups at the other end.
Fairview (17-4, 12-4 PAC) jumped out to an 8-2 run in the opening minutes of the final quarter and never looked back.
“I was just trying to win the game and come out on top,” Lowry said. “I was just trying to do what I could do to get my teammates going. It’s all about team and winning. That’s all I really care about.”
Lowry had five steals, including two in the fourth quarter, as Fairview continued to bolt down the court, thriving with every fastbreak opportunity.
“I try to get all my points from the defensive end. I just work on steals and try to help out my teammates.”
Warriors coach Ryan Barry was looking to implement the defensive strategy of keeping Lowry at midcourt, ready to take off at any moment.
“Martin is so long. We have played around with that in practice and we actually kind of put it in because River was running it … conversely we worked on it ourselves. We got to the second half, and I said, ‘You know what, let’s try it’,” Barry said. “Martin is long up there, and he gets his hands on everything. He is a pain, in a good way.”
After entering the fourth quarter with only three points, Lowry finished with a team-high 17 points, five steals, six rebounds and three assists.
Sophomore teammate Luke Howes had high praise for Lowry’s clutch performance.
“Yeah, we got Martin going. He is really good at leaking out and getting layups on fast breaks,” Howes said. “So that’s what we do. We get in the passing lane and get steals and throw them ahead. He just did a good job of getting out on the fast break and he reaped the benefits.”
Howes didn’t have too shabby of a game either, beginning the first quarter with three consecutive assists for three to his brother, senior Grant Howes, as the brotherly tandem had the Warriors offense going early.
“It does (feel good). He has been struggling this year, so it’s really nice to get him going. When he gets going, he doesn’t miss,” Howes said.
Grant Howes finished with 11 points and two rebounds, while Luke did a little bit of everything, chipping in 15 points, six rebounds and three assists.
After its dismal performance at home against Vermilion, Clearview looked sharp in the opening minutes, staying neck-and-neck with the hot-shooting Warriors. Clippers (15-5, 12-1 PAC) junior Jaylen Paschal found his stroke early, sinking a pair of 3s.
Paschal cooled off in the second, but with his team down 45-36 headed into the half, he erupted again in the third quarter, outscoring the entire Warriors team 10-8. The offensive burst helped Clearview even the game headed into the fourth.
Paschal finished with a game-high 18 points and three rebounds.
“I was very proud in the third quarter,” Clippers coach John Szalay said. “I thought we came in and played proud defense. I think in the third quarter we did a lot of things well. But then in the fourth quarter for the first three or four possessions we turned it over at half court, and then the game got away from us.”
The Clippers, who have lost two-in-a-row, are still without junior Javon Todd, who is recovering from an ankle injury. Though they hope to have him back before the playoffs, Szalay knows his team must be better.
“He’s a good ballplayer. We’re a different team without him, but we can’t use that as a crutch. We have got to be responsible for the way we play with or without Javon,” Szalay said.
Fairview’s calling card defense wreaked havoc again, notching 14 steals, including six in the fourth quarter. The extra effort on defense is something Luke Howes believes his team thrives on as they prepare to make a deep run in the playoffs.
“For us, it’s everything. I know some teams don’t really try on defense, I guess. But we really try and get out and get in the passing lane. Those are the easiest points you can get, steals leading to fast-break points,” Howes said.
Fairview’s strong defensive performance helped redeem themselves from the 75-73 OT loss earlier this season at Clearview, something the Warriors had not forgotten about.
Emotions reached a tipping point midway through the fourth when Clearview senior Evan Berrios was given a technical foul for exchanging words with the Warriors coaching staff.