Lakeland Christian’s Cam Shepherd battles to the rim against Oregon-Davis’ Braden Swanson and Jared Bryan Friday night. (Photos by Mike Deak)

WINONA LAKE – Lakeland Christian Academy just ran out of answers Friday night.

The visiting Bobcats spoiled LCA’s Senior Night by hitting the shots it needed late in a 65-55 boys basketball win.

Two years ago, LCA upset Oregon-Davis for its first-ever win against the Bobcats and did so with some late heroics. The game was shaping up that way again Friday as LCA dug itself out of a huge hole and nearly won its final home game of the season.

A 15-2 O-D run in the second quarter took what was a one-point game after the first quarter, 15-14, into a 30-16 advantage. Amidst the visitor’s run was the inspired play of Garrett Weil, who scored nine points in the spurt, saved a loose ball to a teammate that turned into another basket, hauled in a handful of rebounds and even took a charge.

LCA’s Seth Martin celebrates with Peter Koller during a second-half run.

LCA, however, would respond late in the quarter, whittling the lead back to six, using a pair of steals and a Cam Shepherd three during its own 10-point burst to end the quarter.

O-D led by as many as eight in the third, only for LCA to rally and tie the game at 40.

Things would get physical in the fourth. A key blocking call on Silas Gagnon on a driving Dylan Murphy kept the Bobcat center in the game with four fouls, his two freebies giving O-D a 45-41 lead.

Things would get much chippier moments later when LCA’s Seth Martin fought for a loose ball with Weil. The two wrestled each other to the whistle, and as players convened, Weil and Brayden Lane had to be separated. Weil then shoved Lane and drew a technical and subsequently fouled himself out of the game.

Lane, however, missed one of the free throws, which would play a bigger overall role down the stretch. LCA would miss 7-11 free throw attempts in the fourth quarter and was only 14-27 from the line in the game. At the point of the Lane free throw, it was 45-44 O-D. The Bobcats would go back to Murphy, who converted an and-one, which started a 10-0 O-D run to put the game out of reach.

“We kept clawing, we just didn’t make a couple plays down the stretch to stay with them,” said LCA head coach Chris Hohm, who was coaching his final home game at LCA. Hohm is taking a two-year hiatus starting next school year to serve as a teacher in Tanzania for an aid program. “I liked the resiliency of our team today. If we make a couple free throws and a couple more shots, it’s probably a different outcome, or at least it would have played that way at the end.”

Matthew Helton works against Garrett Weil.

Weil finished the game with 18 points while Cameron Taylor scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half, eight of those in the fourth quarter. Murphy had all six of his points in the fourth quarter and avoided fouling out.

LCA seniors Matthew Helton and Landon Paris had considerable impacts in the contest, Helton opening the game with five points and ending with a career-high 11 while Paris hit a three to keep LCA alive in the fourth. Seth Martin continued to improve from an ankle injury that hampered him earlier in the season, leading the team with 18 points and nine rebounds. Cam Shepherd scored 16 points and showed the ability to find teammates open in space time and again.

“For me coming into tonight, it was fun to think about the time I’ve been here and it was nostalgic,” Hohm said. “For the two seniors we have, certainly it was emotional for them as well. Of course they wanted to go out with a win, but they played very well.”

LCA finishes its regular season 5-18 and will head into unfamiliar tournament territory, shifting to the southern grid of the Class 1-A tournament with its inclusion into the Southern Wells six-team sectional. While LCA’s record may not show its improvement, none of the six teams in the field have a winning record, and only Southwood (8-12) has more wins than LCA.

“If we play in the tournament like we played tonight, we can beat anyone there,” Hohm said. “Our offense has the capability to score. Defensively, we have to get greedy and make sure every possession matters. We saw it tonight, when we took possessions off on defense, they scored in bunches. Its happened to us this season, and teams have scored on us quickly.”

“You think about the time spent here and it’s been good. I have a lot to be proud of in my six years with LCA,” said Chris Hohm, who coached his final game at LCA Friday night.