Boys basketball
By: Jim Green
With a defensive stop here and a made basket there, the Lawrence High School boys basketball team easily could have qualified for the state tournament this season.
But an inability to pull out close games has left the Cardinals with a three-game losing streak and a 5-12 overall record.
"Those are the games that bother you," Lawrence coach Pat Tarrant said. "When you feel like you’re in control, but you can’t finish the game. They’re hard to shake off."
The Cardinals’ most recent tough loss came Saturday against West Windsor-Plainsboro South. Lawrence trailed by just one point heading into the final quarter, but could not take hold of the game, eventually falling 59-54 despite a season-high 19 points from senior forward Justin Ross.
"We fought back from behind against West Windsor-Plainsboro South," Tarrant said. "We took leads late in the game, but we gave it away in the end.
"We didn’t get the defensive stops when we had to. We couldn’t score in the last couple of minutes."
The Cardinals are 4-8 in the Colonial Valley Conference and have lost five of seven games since their dramatic win Jan. 21 over CVC Colonial Division rival Notre Dame.
The center of Lawrence’s difficulties all season has been an inconsistent offense. With senior guard Shawn Potocki the team’s only proven, reliable scorer, the Cardinals have topped 60 points just three times and are averaging 49.2 points a game over their last five.
"We struggle offensively many times," Tarrant said. "We have to work hard to manufacture points. We hurry things."
Lawrence was coming off a 71-57 loss to CVC Valley Division leading Hamilton on Thursday. Potocki poured in 20 points, and Ross added 13 for the Cardinals, who led 28-27 at halftime.
But the Cardinals suffered another second-half letdown against the Hornets and were outscored 21-7 in the third.

