By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – Keaton Lawson, forced to carry the Olympian torch, swooped, soared and slammed, a human highlight moment with victory in the air with him. Columbus East needed its best at his best, and this single “Wow!” moment showed just how valuable he was.
Lawson’s thunderous dunk, a lightning bolt burst from the right wing that was all athleticism and talent, was East’s final basket. More importantly, it was the last of his 29 points as the Olympians held off Bedford North Lawrence for their first Hoosier Hills Conference win of the season.
With a distracted audience of the hearty who made a home basketball game a priority over a televised college football battle, even though the diluted crowd could have fit in a small church auditorium and the atmosphere resembled an early-morning gathering for a summer AAU tournament, East survived a gritty BNL rally from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter. The Olympians dominated a three-minute span late in the final frame en route to a 62-60 win over the Stars on Friday night. Lawson’s dynamic double-double, even more impressive considering East was missing two injured starters, powered East (4-3) to a tough road win.
With East clinging to a 56-53 lead as the clock ticked toward the unannounced two-minute warning, Lawson took off for his poster slam. He elevated, with defenders swarming under him, stretched and crunched it down. From there, East took a 61-54 lead into the final minute and escaped when the Stars (3-7) could not get a desperation shot airborne in the last two seconds.
“Keaton stepped up as that leader,” East coach Perry Nash said. “He knew he had to score, and he did a phenomenal job. He has skills, he’s a very special player.”
BNL will rue the turnovers that fueled East’s 13-0 run to end the third quarter, the shot selection that allowed East to pull away in the fourth quarter, another turnover that set up East’s final shot of the first half, a possible five-point swing that set the tone for the final two periods.
“It’s just understanding time and score, knowing what to do in that situation,” BNL coach Jackson Ryan said. “Details like that matter.”
The major details of the first half was a shootout between Lawson and BNL strongman Gibson Crane. While Lawson was popping 15-footers, Crane was muscling in the paint, converting all five of his shots while scoring 15 points. His power move in the post gave BNL its biggest lead at 28-21. But East came back with a Lawson jumper and a trey from Graham Preizer (following a BNL miscue as it was holding for what was designed to be the final shot of the half) that slashed the gap to 28-26. And in a one-possession final, that series would prove as significant as the other twists.
After Easton Moore crashed the baseline for a 3-point play and 37-35 lead for the Stars, East took advantage of BNL breakdowns (8 turnovers in the third quarter). Ben Ellegood scored twice, including a steal off an inbound pass, and Lawson took a steal for another slam. His 16-footer capped the quarter with a 48-37 lead, and Carson Gallion went coast to coast with a rebound to start the final period.
BNL’s best run was Dax Short’s 3-point play, Driven Axsom’s deep corner trey and Short’s long bomb for a 52-52 deadlock with 4:45 left. The Stars had chances to go ahead, but quick shots went unrewarded, and another Preizer bomb gave East the lead for good, just before the Lawson explosion.
Lawson grabbed 11 rebounds to go with his point production. Preizer finished with 11 points.
“I’m so proud of the guys who stepped up,” Nash said. “At one point and time, we had four sophomores out there. I told them they were going to make me old, but they played hard. We did a lot of bending, but we didn’t break.”
Short paced BNL with 20 points, while Crane finished with 15 points and 10 boards.
“I tell you what, there’s a trend in the games we have won so far,” Ryan said. “Gibson has been a force, and it was great to see. Easton was a man possessed, giving us that effort and energy.
“It’s just tough to lose a conference game at home. We’ll keep hammering.”
BNL will return to action on Jan. 16 at Mitchell.
COLUMBUS EAST OLYMPIANS (62)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
3 Keaton Lawson, f 0-2 12-25 5-5 11 4 29
5 Carson Gallion, f 0-1 2-5 5-6 8 2 9
0 Anthony Cowan, g 0-1 1-5 1-2 2 5 3
11 Ben Ellegood, g 0-1 2-4 0-0 1 3 4
13 Logan Neal, g 1-4 1-3 3-6 5 3 6
1 Graham Preizer 3-8 4-13 0-0 3 0 11
22 Josiah Kiel 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 2 0
30 Carson Siegelin 0-0 0-1 0-0 0 3 0
Totals 4-16 22-57 14-19 33 22 62
BEDFORD NL STARS (60)
3s FGs FTs R F Pts
24 Gibson Crane, f 0-0 5-10 5-6 10 5 15
5 Dax Short, g 1-3 7-12 5-8 8 2 20
1 Parker Kern, g 0-5 3-14 3-4 3 1 9
11 Jace Nicholson, g 0-2 1-5 0-0 1 0 2
2 Driven Axsom, g 1-1 1-2 2-2 0 5 5
40 Ben Conner 0-0 1-2 2-2 5 2 4
12 Dayson Kirby 0-0 0-1 0-0 1 1 0
10 Easton Moore 0-1 2-3 1-1 2 0 5
Totals 2-12 20-49 18-23 35 16 60
Col. East 13 13 22 14 – 62
Bedford NL 13 15 9 23 – 60
Turnovers – East 8, BNL 13
Field goal percentage – East 22-57 (.386); BNL 20-49 (.408)
Free throw percentage – East 14-19 (.737); BNL 18-23 (.783)
