RANDY HISNER
WZBD.com
The Heritage seniors did their part Tuesday on Senior Night, but it was junior Taurean Brown who played the most vital role in helping the Patriots overcome an 11-point deficit late in the third quarter and eventually beat the North Side Legends, 58-54.
Brown, who led the Patriots (12-8) with 21 points (14 in the second half), scored six straight points in 75 seconds late in the third quarter after the Legends (9-12) had started the half with a 16-5 rally to go up 44-33 with 2:57 to go. The game had been tied, 28-28, at the half.
The first of Brown’s three buckets came on a slick Euro step on a fast break layup at the 2:27 mark. Next came a falling-down bank shot from five feet with 1:40 left. Just 28 seconds later he sank a 10-foot floater in the lane, and suddenly the Patriots were back in the game at 44-39.
After a clutch block by senior Braden Walter, sophomore Lucas Taylor capped the eight-point run with a fast break layup to make it 44-41 heading into the final period.
Heritage coach Kyle Sovine was thrilled with how his team fought back after the North Side barrage to start the third quarter. “We talk about it virtually every day of practice,” he said. “‘How are you going to respond?’ I thought we did a good job, you know. We kind of refocused; everyone started playing defense and holding each other accountable. You could see that leadership take off.”
North Side’s Sebastian Moore opened the fourth with a pair of free throws, but Heritage senior Landon Lybarger countered with his third triple to pull the Pats within two points. Brown traded baskets with the Legends’ Conner Siratei and Sebastian Moore to keep the lead at two, 50-48. When North Side turned the ball over with just under 5:00 to go, Taylor used the opportunity to calmly sink a three-pointer from the right wing, igniting the home crowd and putting the Patriots ahead for the first time since late in the second quarter, at 51-50.
Jordan Woods, the game’s leading scorer with 23, put the Legends on top again with a jumper just inside the arc at the top of the key.
That turned out to be North Side’s last lead.
Heritage went on a 6-0 run, with Lybarger hitting a fadeaway jumper and layup, and Brown making a put back on his own miss. Now it was 57-52 with 2:45 left, and the Patriots were able to run time off the clock while holding the Legends to a single bucket the rest of the way. Lantae Cassel cemented the win with a free throw that gave the Patriots the final four-point lead with 8.5 seconds left.
Though North Side jumped out to 5-0 and 7-2 leads at the start of the game, the Patriots kept it close and then took the lead at 13-11 when Lybarger hit two three-pointers from the same spot on the right wing in less than 20 seconds. The rest of the half was back and forth, with five lead changes and three ties. Lybarger scored eight and Brown seven to lead Heritage in the half, while Moore and Woods each had nine for North Side.
Woods, a 6-5 junior who gave the Pats fits all night, also had nine points in the Legends’ big third-quarter run.
Sovine praised Brown for his stellar game. “He’s a gamer, a playmaker. Love that kid,” he said. “When he’s playing with a full level of confidence, he’s tough to guard. It’s good to see him take over a game and help these seniors out so they could win on Senior Night.”
The coach was also quick to credit Lybargar, a senior and the team’s leading scorer. He had 18 points, including seven in the fourth quarter. “We know he’s going to get doubled and face-guarded,” Sovine said, “but he fights through that by being tough and figuring out a way to score the ball.”
Though it was a nonconference game, Sovine thinks the win over a much bigger school was an important one. “We’re trying to beef the schedule up to get us ready for sectional,” the second-year coach said. “I think it’s good to play these big 4A schools. I think this is our first 4A win since I’ve been here, so it’s good to build some confidence going into sectional.”
Heritage shot 44% on twos (17-for-39), 42% on threes (5-for-12), and 82% from the free throw line (9-for-11). North Side hit 68% on twos (19-for-28), 24% on threes (4-for-17), and 80% from the line (4-for-5). Heritage had 10 turnovers, North Side 16.
Heritage scorers: Brown 21, Lybarger 18, Taylor 7, Cassel 6, Davian Bates 4, Braden Walter 2.
North Side scorers: Woods 23, Moore 12, Max Goheen 11, Omarion Waites 6, Siratei 2.
North Side won the JV game, 40-37.
Heritage’s next game is at New Haven on Friday.
About the Author
