Lima Senior’s Bryan Miller Jr. drives against Payton Moyer of Toledo St. John’s during Friday night’s game at Lima Senior.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
Lima Senior’s Jatsiel Colon puts up a shot against Jaedyn McKinstry of Toledo St. John’s during Friday night’s game at Lima Senior.
Richard Parrish | The Lima News
LIMA — Opportunity knocked early but Lima Senior didn’t answer in a 53-46 boys basketball loss to Toledo St. John’s on Friday night.
By the time another opportunity came around, it was too late.
St. John’s (13-3, 9-0 Three Rivers Athletic Conference) solidified its grip on the league race and beat the Spartans for a second time this season. The Titans won 68-44 on their home court the first time the two teams played this season.
There was a glimmer of hope early when, with St. John’s leading 18-16 in the first minute of the second quarter, its big man Vincent Williams went to bench with two fouls.
But instead of igniting a Lima Senior rally, Williams’ exit was the starting point for a 13-0 St. John’s run over the next four minutes that gave the Titans a 15-point lead at 31-16.
Lima Senior spent the rest of the night trying to catch up and still was behind by 15 points, 43-28, in the first minute of the fourth quarter.
The Spartans ran off 10 unanswered point late in the game to get within four points, 45-41, with 42 seconds to play but could not get any closer.
Williams scored 15 points to lead St. John’s. Houston King had 13 points and Jaedyn McKinstry scored 11 points.
Jaleel King and Bryan Miller both scored 14 points for Lima Senior (9-9, 4-6 TRAC).
The game was played at St. John’s tempo for most of the night and the Titans’ defense held the Spartans to 19 points in a 19 1/2-minute stretch from early in the second quarter until halfway through the fourth quarter.
“We made it tough on ourselves,” Lima Senior coach Quincey Simpson said. “We call a play and if the first option on that play doesn’t work, we get stagnant. We know how to go to option two and option three but we don’t always execute the second and third option, where that team over there executes second and third options.
“I thought we had our chances. We missed a ton of lay-ups and turned the ball over at key times. Giving up four threes in the first half, if we don’t do that, I believe we’re in the ball game,” he said.
“I think we’re right there. Effort-wise, I have no complaints. I thought we played pretty good toward the end. But to beat teams like that you have to put it together for 32 minutes and we just didn’t do it.”
Other than getting the victory, Toledo St. John’s coach Ed Heintschel did not think the game was a thing of beauty.
“That was brutal. I don’t know if it was the physicality or fouls or the whistles or whatever just chopped the game up,” he said. “There was no flow. It was just a very frustrating evening for everybody.”
The veteran St. John’s coach, who got his 700th win earlier this season, said Friday night’s game was not the first time the Titans have responded with Williams on the bench.
“We played without him a couple times. He has been dinged up a couple times. We actually won a game out in California without him against a pretty good team. But you don’t want a steady diet of playing without him because he’s a pretty important player,” he said.
Reach Jim Naveau at 567-242-0414 or on Twitter at @Lima_Naveau.
