Keaton Lawson
Another double digit comeback by the Columbus East boys basketball team fell just short once again.
The Olympians got it to within two points with a minute remaining, but Mooresville was able to hang on to hand East a 67 -61 loss Tuesday night at the Orange Pit.
The Olympians cut the deficit to 60-58 with a minute remaining, but the Pioneers came up with consecutive buckets to increase the lead to 64-58. A Mason Reeves 3-pointer gave East a chance with 15 seconds left. Mooresville then hit its free throws to seal the game.
East (4-9) started the game out flat that allowed Mooresville (6-9) to jump out to an early 13-4 lead. The Olympians slowly climbed back with a Keaton Lawson 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 17-14, but a jumper from Bradley Robbins Jr. gave the Pioneers a 19-14 lead after the first quarter.
Mooresville came out of the second quarter with a fast start to extend the lead to 26-14. Back-to-back baskets by Lawson made it 26-18. Lawson had scored 16 of 18 East points up until that point. His other teammates finally started up offensively. Carter Patterson provided a huge boost to offense for the Olympians by scoring seven straight points to close the half and cut the Pioneers lead to 33-30 at the half.
A couple minutes into the third quarter, a jumper by Jack Fischvogt capped off a 9-4 run to give East a 39-37 lead. The lead would be short lived, as Mooresville went on a 9-2 run to lead 48-41. The Pioneers led 52-43 heading into the fourth quarter.
East was led by Lawson with a game-high 23 points. Patterson had 20, and Fischvogt added 10.
Mooresville put four players in double figures with Tyrone Elmore finishing with a team-high 20 points.
Mooresville 67, Columbus East 61
Mooresville;19;14;19;15;—;67
Columbus East;14;16;13;18;—;61
Mooresville (6-9): Robbins 5 0-0 11, Burns 5 7-7 18, Dennis 1 0-0 2, Elmore 7 6-7 20, Thompson 1 2-3 4, DeFur 5 0-0 12. Totals: 33 15-17 67
Columbus East (4-9): Mason Reeves 1 0-0 3, Jack Fischvogt 4 0-0 10, Keaton Lawson 10 2-5 23, Alex Murphy 0 0-0 0, Carter Patterson 6 7-9 20, Daniel Coriden 0 0-0 0, Ethan Bumbalough 2 1-2 5. Totals: 23 10-16 61.
3-point goals: Mooresville 3 (Burns, DeFur, Robbins); Columbus East 5 (Fischvogt 2, Lawson, Patterson, Reeves).
