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| Xavier Williams direct driving against DeeJay Britt late in the fourth quarter. (Photo: Chuck Cordes/Ohsfbmedia.com) |
MASSILLON, Ohio - For the second year in a row, the Massillon boys basketball team pulled off an exciting comeback against Canton McKinley, winning 77-75.
In the previous season, they won against the Bulldogs with a score of 74-73, thanks to Chris Knight hitting a crucial 3-pointer in the last minute that secured the win. This season, it was Isaiah Lamp with a critical steal and a foul that tied the game at 75-75. After two successful free throws, they went up 77-75.
"I'm thinking in my head the whole time, I can't let the ball get back to the point guard [Davey Thompson]," said Lamp, before the steal. "I just denied, got the steal, then you know I'm at the line it ain't no fluke last year same thing I'm go put them away."
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| Isaiah Lamp goes for a layup as Gio Jackson Jr. looks on. (Photo: Chuck Cordes/Ohsfbmedia.com) |
The Bulldogs started the game quickly with a 6-0 run after an opening score by Xavier Williams, going up 8-2 with 5:42 remaining, while the Tigers seemed to struggle, not scoring again until the 4:32 mark of the quarter, trailing 4-12. "Offensively, we were stale all night," said Hose.
McKinley led 20-14 after the first quarter.
Massillon would start to get back into the game early in the second as they would trail 16-20 after McKinley's Legacy Lee would pick up his second foul on Xavier Williams and hit the two free throws.
They got as close as four points after the Bulldogs scored 18 points in the quarter. Anthony Chavers was keeping the pace of the game, contributing seven points during that time. They managed to score nine points in the last three minutes of the quarter, ending the half ahead by nine, with a score of 38-29.
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| Damere McClellan and Xavier Williams battle for the ball. (Photo: Chuck Cordes/Ohsfbmedia.com) |
This game would get interesting after the half. Massillon would begin to push the pace, "We were playing some better defense," elaborated Hose. With McKinley leading 40-29 with 7:29 remaining, the Xavier Williams show took over as he made some solid shots, mostly from behind the 3-point line, scoring 11 of his game-high 25 points in this period.
"We honestly knew our run was go come, we hadn't had our run yet," said Williams.
And a wild run it was as they got within three points off a Braylon Gamble three with 2:05 left in the quarter. Gio Jackson Jr. would score his second bucket of the game during this period, as he was held to one point in the first half. They would trail 54-57 at the end of the quarter.
The fourth quarter turned into a tug-of-war as both teams exchanged baskets, driven by a feeling of urgency.
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| Braylon Gamble shoots over the outstretched Legacy Lee. Gamble finished the game with 16 points. (Photo: Chuck Cordes/Ohsfbmedia/com) |
Marcus Garner played a vital role late in the game, dominating the paint to secure rebounds. "We had to get rebounds," said Williams.
Terrian Wells, off the bench, was also huge, hitting a shot that would tie the game up at 66-66, but McKinley would not go away, getting contributions from Edward Webster (17 total game points), and Davey Thompson.
With the score 75-72, Massillon trailed with under a minute left in the game. Jadyce Thigpen knocks down a 3-point shot to tie it up at 75-75. Lamp would jump the pass intended for Thompson, and as he attempted a layup, he was fouled by Thompson, which led to him nailing two critical free throws to seal the win for the Tigers.
Massillon improves to 17-1 on the season as they will play Uniontown Lake on the road. McKinley falls to 17-4 as they prepare for their last regular season game against Westlake.
Massillon JV defeated McKinley 54-46 in an early game.
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