Somehow, Lomira basketball found a way.
The Lions overcame a slow start, hot Oakfield shooting and foul trouble to earn an exciting 64-60 nonconference win at home on Monday night.
"Oakfield deserved to beat us tonight," Lomira coach Dan Domask said. "I'll be very blunt about that.
"Oakfield was a heck of an opponent tonight. Somehow we came out on top here. We're young and we're building and we've got a long ways to go."
Lomira (4-0) came all the way back and tied the game with about 2:30 left. It got two-straight defensive stops and set up a chance to win the game on the final possession.
Domask called timeout with about 14 seconds left and drew up a pick and roll play with Jackson Goebel and Jake Broeske.
Goebel got to the rim and missed a contested shot, but Broeske was there to tip the ball in to give Lomira the lead with 2.4 seconds left.
"The last play of the game I put my best two players in a situation to either make it or break it and we got it done," Domask said. "I thought he made the layup, but Jake on the roll puts him at the rim and rebounding is certainly a strength of his."
Following an Oakfield timeout, Davis Dercks stepped on the line as he inbounded the ball, turning it back over to the Lions. Goebel got open on the ensuing inbounds, got fouled and made both free throws to secure the win.
Lomira found itself behind early, for it failed to score for the first 5:30 of the game and turned the ball over three times during that span.
Oakfield (2-2) scored the first 8 points of the game and led 25-9 about midway through the first half. The Oaks were on fire from 3-point range, making 6-of-7 to start the game.
Mitchell Moser was one of the catalysts for the early lead. He went 4-for-5 from deep in the first half and scored 12 points.
Domask said the coaching staff made several adjustments at halftime to try to disrupt Oakfield’s offensive rhythm.
"We were struggling, so we made a little bit of an adjustment at halftime to put a little bit more pressure on their bigs so they couldn't run their offense quite so comfortably," Domask said. "I thought that maybe just got them a little bit out of rhythm."
Junior guard Hunter Duley was tasked with trying to slow Moser down along with Goebel. The Lions held Moser to just a pair of free throws in the second half.
"In the first half he had a couple of good shots and he heated up ," Duley said. "Coach wanted me to stick to him like glue and just don't let him shoot the ball, don't let him touch the ball because he's a very good player."
Oakfield led by 16 twice, once in the first half and once in the second. Lomira responded both times with significant scoring runs to get itself back in the game.
Goebel went on a personal 8-0 run in the first half, including making two 3-pointers within about 20 seconds. That was part of an 11-2 run that cut the lead to 7.
In the second half, Lomira trailed 42-26 and turned it on with a 20-6 run. Sophomore Charlie Cole hit two 3s during the run, finishing with 9 points on the night.
"[Making 3s] gives us confidence," Cole said. "It spreads the defense out. It's easier for Jake to get in and he's been scoring."
Keegan Kell, another sophomore, gave the Lions their first lead of the game with just 2:50 left when he hit a right wing 3.
Cole said that the ability to hit shots helps to open up the offense when teams are throwing double and triple teams at Broeske inside.
Broeske had to contend with foul trouble all night. He picked up his second foul with 10:03 left in the first half and his third shortly after halftime.
Domask said Oakfield's Bo Bijl, who is listed at 6-foot-6, did an excellent job on both ends against Broeske.
"There wasn't much of a difference in size," Domask said. "Then you've got to rely on skill and technique. In the moment, when Oakfield got hot, I thought Jake was a little flustered early and just putting up the shot instead of making the right post read.
"You saw it near the end, the center of gravity of his moves was lower and faster and stronger. Then he was getting to the line instead of getting his shot blocked."
PHOTO GALLERY: Oakfield at Lomira boys basketball - 12/10/2024
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