Lower Moreland Hands Holy Ghost First Loss of the Season

Throughout the course of a season there are games that teams will circle on the calendar. There are also games in which teams can avenge a previous loss, or use the opponent as a measuring stick to see its own success. Last night's Lower Moreland boys basketball game at Holy Ghost was probably a combination of all three.

The Lions marched into Holy Ghost's home gym Friday night facing a Firebirds squad that hadn't lost a single game all season (15-0) and had beaten LM in Lower Moreland by 20 points one month ago to the day. The Lions, however, wouldn't let any thoughts of that previous game creep in their heads as they tried to take a share of first place in the Bicentennial League.

Led by Mike Mangan's 17 points and Jeremy Geiger's 15, the Lions fought tooth and nail for a 50-43 win, handing Holy Ghost the bitter taste of defeat for the first time all year.

"They're at the top of the mountain," head coach Seth Baron said of his opponent. "They were undefeated and having a great year. We played well; we played well enough to beat them … The first loss wasn't really on our minds. We were focused on all the games leading up to Ghost. We have improved and we keep getting better."

LM trailed by one after three quarters but erupted for 26 points in the final quarter to get the win.

The Lions won at Holy Ghost for the first time in six years dating back to the 2005-06 campaign.

"It's so tough to play there for many reasons," said assistant coach Adam Brown, who played on the LM basketball team from 1996-98 and had many run-ins with last night's opponent. "(Holy Ghost coach) Chapman always has them playing fundamentally sound. You can't take any plays off or they will capitalize on it."

A couple of late free throws sealed the deal for the Lions, who gave their fans who made the road trip a great win and a reason to storm the visitor's court.

"Their fans are into it, our fans are into it," Brown said. "It's a loud, frenzied atmosphere. That's what makes the win so special. We played as a team and overcame many obstacles."  

Coming into the game, Holy Ghost was averaging 56.5 points per game in its previous seven wins. The Lions came to town and were able to stifle the Firebirds with suffocating defense and held them to 13 points fewer than they were averaging.

"Our defense is getting better and better," Baron said, who held Holy Ghost to just three points in the opening quarter. "We're trying to hold teams under their team averages. That first loss was about building momentum leading up to this game."

LM's Jake Cohen chipped in with seven points in the win.

As the league standings take shape today, LM (7-1, 11-5 overall) currently sits in first place by a half game over Holy Ghost (6-1). The Lions were schedule to play at Girard tonight, but it was postponed . The schools are hoping for a make-up date on Monday or Tuesday of next week.

LM rounds out its league schedule with Christopher Dock (Jan. 24), New Hope (Jan. 27), Springfield (Feb. 3), MAST Charter (Feb. 8) and Bristol (Feb. 10) in the season finale.

"We knew that a league championship is the next step," Baron said. "It's got to be a game at a time. We're going to enjoy this win. We have about four or five league games left, and most of them are on the road."

BOX SCORE

LOWER MORELAND (50)

Cohen 1 4-10 7; Mangan 2 11-14 17; Geiger 2 10-12 15; Weintraub 1 0-0 2; D. Zoubroulis 1 1-4 3 S. Zoubroulis 1 0-0 2; Zhang 2 0-0 4. Totals 10 26-40 50.

HOLY GHOST (43)

Lazorko 2 7-10 11; Kalmes 2 0-0 5; Ainsley 0 3-4 3; Morano 2 1-1 5; Heston 2 5-9 10; Grey 2 0-0 5; Grady 1 1-2 4; Major 0 0-0 0; Herbert 0 0-0 0. Totals 11 17-35 43.

Lower Moreland (11-5, 7-1) 7 12 5 26-50

Holy Ghost Prep (15-1, 6-1) 3 16 6 18-43

3-point goals: LM-Mangan 2, Cohen, Geiger; HG-Ainsley, Heston, Grey, Grady.

BICENTENNIAL LEAGUE STANDINGS