Lancaster falters down the stretch as Heath snaps Gales’ three-game winning

On Dec 30, 2022

Lancaster sophomore Colton Bruny gathers to go up for a layup in transition with Heath sophomore Preston DeVito in pursuit on Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022. The host Bulldogs beat the Golden Gales 45-39 to win their Bulldog Holiday Classic.

HEATH – During Lancaster’s three-game winning streak, the Golden Gales had done a tremendous job of finishing off games.

In all three of those wins, the Gales had to come from behind, and once they got the lead late in the game, they were able to make great decisions and make enough plays down the stretch to win the game.

On Thursday, Lancaster once again found itself trailing against Heath for most of the game, and the Gales were able to make a run and cut the Bulldogs’ deficit to just one at 37-36 with three minutes remaining.

However, this time, Lancaster struggled down the stretch, and a lot of that had to do with the Bulldogs’ outstanding halfcourt defense and being patient and efficient on offense.

Heath outscored the Gales 8-3 in the final three minutes of the game to finish off a hard-fought 45-39 victory in the championship game of the Bulldog Holiday Classic.

“We made just enough plays to keep the lead, and because we are so young, our margin for error is so small,” Heath coach Devin Fulk said. “Every possession is critical, and I thought we did a nice job when Lancaster started to turn up the pressure, of not turning the ball over and not settling for jump shots, which is something that we have done in the past.

“We did a nice job, especially late, of using (Lancaster’s) aggressiveness against them by going back door and getting layups on pick and rolls. We showed a lot of grit down the stretch, and we did a nice job of closing out the game against a good team.”

Heath’s defense was outstanding, especially in the first half. After taking an 11-9 first-quarter lead, the Bulldogs (4-2) watched as the Gales (7-4) started the second quarter on a 6-0 run to take a 15-11 advantage, thanks to a steal and layup from Colton Bruny, a free throw from Hayden Allen and 3-pointer from Canon Ailes.

However, Heath didn’t allow the Gales to score another point the rest of the half by shutting them out in the final 5:50 of the first half. The Bulldogs’ Jaxon Duston, a sophomore, drained a pair of 3-pointers and scored on a layup as the Bulldogs finished the half on an 8-0 run to give them a 19-15 halftime lead.

Lancaster struggled to make shots in the first half by connecting on only 6 of 20 from the field, and the Gales were just 15 of 44 from the field for the game.

“When you are struggling to score, which we are, you have to make some shots,” Lancaster coach Kent Riggs said. “You aren’t going to win too many games shooting it as bad as we did. Give Heath credit, they took some stuff away from us that we usually get, and they did a nice job, defensively. I thought we could get some offensive rebounds, which we did at times, and we just didn’t put it back in the bucket.

“When it is a one or two-possession game, that makes a big difference. They hurt us late with some ball screen stuff and we didn’t handle that well. It seemed like anytime we put pressure on them, they got a layup, and we just couldn’t get stops when we needed it. They just seemed a little quicker and were a little more aggressive than we were at times.”

Lancaster looked to be in business at the start of the second half, thanks to a 7-3 run in the first three minutes of the third quarter. Ailes scored five points during the run and Bruny scored on a driving layup.

From there, however, the Gales went ice cold, going over four minutes without scoring, but they were able to stay within striking distance and trailed 26-24 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs were able to build and maintain a five-point lead through the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, thanks to outstanding execution on offense. Ben Mason scored on three consecutive possessions to help the Bulldogs keep that lead during that stretch.

Heath led 37-33 with 3:20 left before Ailes hit a 3-pointer to cut the margin to one before the Bulldogs sealed the deal. Preston Devito had a big three-point play and added a rebound bucket in the final 1:22.

Duston led the Bulldogs with 15 points, six rebounds and two assists. Mason finished with 12 points, five rebounds and two assists, while Brayden Bayles and Devito chipped in seven points each and Jordan Kaminsky dished out eight assists.