Cardinals come close to victory

BOYS BASKETBALL

By: Tim Falls
   The Lawrence High School boys basketball team came close enough to taste its first win, but left hungry.
   The Cardinals may be starving for a victory after starting the season with three tough losses.
   Lawrence opened the season with a narrow defeat to Notre Dame last Friday.
   The Cardinals nearly matched Monroe but came up short on Saturday.
   Lawrence even built a sizable lead against Hamilton but the Hornets rallied to win and hand the Cardinals their third-straight loss on Tuesday night.
   The Irish edged the Cardinals, 48-47, with two foul shots in the final seven seconds of the game.
   Lawrence’s Dave Schindewolf sank a three-pointer to push his team ahead, 47-46, with time running out. A foul brought Notre Dame’s Juilan Diaz to the free throw line, where he changed the outcome by sinking both of his shots. Diaz finished with 27 points to lead all scorers.
   Schindewolf led the Cardinals with 11 points, while Bayshawn Wells had 11, Rob Wilborn scored 10, Pat Beighley scored eight, Joe Mitchell had four and Army Dickerson scored three.
   Lawrence had a 21-20 lead at the half and both teams scored 10 points in the third quarter before the Irish out scored the Cardinals by two points in the fourth quarter.
   A strong third-quarter helped Lawrence close with Monroe, but the Cardinals fell short, 41-38.
   Monroe took a 14-8 lead in the first quarter and led 23-16 at halftime before Lawrence managed a short rally. The Cardinals out shot Monroe, 12-8, but after both teams scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, Lawrence lingered three points behind.
   A 10-point effort from Beigley led Lawrence’s scoring.
   Wilborn scored eight with two three-pointers and Wells had six in the loss.
   Schindewolf and Mitchell provided four points each and Corey Thomas contributed two points to Lawrence’s score.
   The Cardinals came out hungry against Hamilton and took a 29-22 lead at halftime.
   The defending Group III Champion turned the tide in the second half and quickly pulled ahead by out scoring the Cardinals, 10-4 in the third quarter.
   The Hornets did not give Lawrence a chance to form a rally of its own and continued their attack, stinging the Cardinals with 19 points while holding Lawrence to five.
   The game began on a much different note, with Lawrence going on a 15-1 run and seemingly setting itself up for its first victory of the season.
   Wilborn scored 12 points for the Cardinals, while Beighly scored nine, Schindewolf had six, Thomas provided four, Mitchell finished with three and Dickerson and Wells each scored two points.
   Hamilton also had the advantage in foul shots, sinking 19 compared to just one by Mitchell for Lawrence.
   After three tough losses, the Cardinals will look to eliminate Ewing and claim their first win of the season. Lawrence hosts the Blue Devils at 4:30 tomorrow (Friday).
   Lawrence is also slated to play in Hopewell’s John Molinelli Tournament with a first-round game at 4 p.m. on Wednesday with the consolation and final games scheduled for Thursday.