Lebanon outlasts Monroe

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12:46 AM Wednesday, December 7, 2011

By Scott Hayes

Staff Writer

MONROE — In a seesaw game of spurts, the Lebanon High School boys basketball team had the final run at Monroe on Tuesday.

The Warriors went on a 14-4 run late in the fourth quarter, breaking open a one-point game and closing out a 66-57 victory over the Hornets.

It was Lebanon’s first win in the month of December since 2008.

“It’s nice to get that first win,” said Lebanon coach Matt Higgins, coaching his second game at the Warriors’ helm. “We’re still a work in progress, but the guys played hard. So hard that sometimes, we made poor decisions with the basketball.

“But a nine-point win on the road is something we can be proud of. Everybody contributed, and Monroe played us tough. They have a nice ball club.”

The Hornets (0-2) were left thinking about what might have been.

Trailing 44-43 early in the fourth, Monroe had a chance to take the lead on five consecutive possessions but failed to convert.

“It would be different if we didn’t get good shots. But we got the looks we wanted,” Monroe coach Casey Popplewell said. “We had two layups, a jump shot by a kid we want taking that shot. ... They just didn’t go in.

“We made some runs; they made some runs. They just got the last one, which is the most important one.”

Lebanon junior Ben Esposito finally seized control, scoring nine of his game-high 27 points in the final seven minutes. He also grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.

“My teammates got me the ball in good position to score which was key, because I’m not a point guard,” Esposito said. “Tonight, we wanted to pound the ball inside. That was our main goal, attack the rim.”

Esposito wasn’t the only Warrior to contribute in the game’s pivotal run. Brad Ellis scored all five of his points in a stretch that pushed the lead to 51-43, while Dylan Smith scored five of his eight points in the final 1:37. Junior point guard Zach Beckner scored 14 and was Lebanon’s only other scorer in double figures.

Esposito scored eight points in the first quarter as Lebanon raced out to a 19-6 lead.

But the Hornets answered with a 12-0 run behind Emmanuel Boateng (18 points) and Jake Little (seven points) to close the gap to one. Lebanon’s Kevin Wilburn and Jalen Cook then sparked a 10-2 run, and the Warriors led by six (33-27) at the half.

Monroe made another run at Lebanon in the third quarter, getting within two at 42-40 behind Chris Sloneker, who scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half. Marc Hunt added 11 for the Hornets.

“We’re very close to turning the corner,” Popplewell said. “We’re close to winning tight games, close to being the team that we want to be. It’s just a possession here, a possession there.

“We need to develop some confidence down the stretch and find a way to get over the hump. It’ll come. Hopefully, it’ll come soon.”

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