by Jon Gambee
Lawrence came in
to Martin with only one loss on its record this season and showed why in defeating the Clippers 56-46.
Lawrence ran its overall record to 14-1, with its only loss to Fennville, while Martin slipped to 6-9 and will hope to get back on the winning track Friday evening when the Clippers host Bloomingdale.
“I thought we played them tough most of the night,” said Clipper Coach David Curry. “They are a very physical team and we held our own throughout most of the game. We had them in a position where we could have won it, but we let it slip away. We had to foul them down the stretch and they were very good at the free throw line.”
Lawrence finished 15 of 19 from the charity stripe, while Martin was 11 for 18.
Martin led after eight minutes, 9-6, and at one point in the second quarter was up 16-8. But the Tigers kept chipping away and took a 19-18 lead with 1:25 left in the first half on a basket by Robert Palaez. The Clippers re-took the lead 20-19 on two free throws by Jared Klaasen at the 1:01 mark, but that would be their last lead of the night. Derek Gribler nailed two free throws with 57.2 seconds left and Matt Cammire hit a short jumper with 30 seconds left to give the Tigers a slim 23-20 lead at the half way mark.
Lawrence took a 40-31 lead into the final eight minutes. The closest the Clippers would get down the stretch was 43-38 when Tanner Curry scored with 4:08 left to play and 50-45 when Colton Keyzer hit a free throw with 1:56 left in the game.
Curry led Martin with 19 points and 18 rebounds. Garrett Dill finished with 12.
Gribler had 19 for Lawrence, while Cammire added 14 and Joey Rokos finished with 12.
PHOTO: Andrew Keyzer (11) dribbles past a Lawrence defender. (Photo by Jon Gambee)
