Keaton Lawson
WHITELAND — Columbus East dropped its season opener in gut-wrenching fashion Wednesday night.
The Olympians led Whiteland by eight points in the fourth quarter and still led by four in the final minute. But after the Warriors hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to one, Keaton Lawson — who led East with 23 points — missed a pair of free throws with three seconds remaining. The Olympians fouled on the rebound, and Whiteland’s Dane Kunz sunk both free throws with two-tenths of a second left to fgive the Warriors a 70-69 win.
Carter Patterson scored 17 points for East. Ben Ellegood added seven.
Kunz hit five 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 25 points to lead Whiteland.
