TIGARD -- Less than 24 hours after an emotionally and physically draining win over No. 4 Grant, top-ranked Lake Oswego had some very important business to tend to Tuesday night at No. 8 Tigard.
With first place in Three Rivers League boys basketball on the line, the Lakers summoned the necessary energy to subdue Tigard 54-44, ending the Tigers’ five-game winning streak.
Senior guard Josh Angle scored 20 points and junior guard Sam Abere added 13 points for the Lakers (13-3, 4-0), who are all alone at the top of the league standings above Tigard (10-6, 3-1) and Oregon City (12-4, 3-1).
“We knew we were going to take their best punch, and I thought the guys handled it really well,” Lake Oswego coach Marshall Cho said. “We came into a really tough place to play and we got it done, so I’m pleased.”
The reigning league champion Lakers never trailed. They raced to a 14-4 lead, getting three-pointers from Angle and senior guard Brandon Roberts, and led by at least five points the rest of the way.
Angle said the fast start “was very important. Coming off a game, obviously you want to get out to a lead early so you’re not expending tons and tons of energy, trying to claw back.”
Lake Oswego had to overcome a big night by Tigard’s Stevie Schlabach. The 6-foot-4 senior wing scored a game-high 28 points, including 17 in the second half as the Tigers stayed just close enough to put heat on the Lakers.
“He’s really good,” Cho said of Schlabach. “We focused on him quite a bit in the last years. We’ve been more successful than we were tonight. I think that’s a tribute to him, how hard he’s worked from last year to this year.
“He’s a competitor. He doesn’t want to keep losing to us. And I thought he was going to will them into something interesting towards the end there. I’m glad it wasn’t.”
Schlabach said the Tigers knew they had a tall task Tuesday.
“To come out and win, we have to pretty much play a perfect game,” Schlabach said. “Once we got behind, they’re obviously a good team, so they’re going to try to run it up, and we just had to try to crawl back and scratch the scoreboard, which we did. We almost came back and made it a game.”
Lake Oswego outscored Tigard 10-3 at the start of the fourth quarter to open its biggest lead, 47-35 with 2:41 left. But Schlabach had seven points during a 9-2 run as the Tigers cut the lead to 49-44 with 50 seconds remaining.
Tigard drew an offensive foul on Lakers sophomore point guard Wayne McKinney and had a chance to make it a one-score game, but Angle came up with the defensive play of the night.
Tigers senior wing Jazz Ross appeared to have a clear path to the basket, but the 6-3 Angle came from the weak side and swatted it away. McKinney got the ball and pushed it ahead to senior post Grant Fuson, who converted a three-point play for a 52-44 lead with 38 seconds left.
Game over.
“It’s rare,” Angle said of his block, beaming proudly. “I was joking with the coaches that I’m our rim protector now.”
Cho credited his players for the way they responded to Tigard’s runs.
“Man, these guys are so tough,” Cho said. “I found myself at one point, they were looking over at me for the next play, and I said, ‘It’s about you guys, not me.’ They have to bring this home, and they did.”
The Lakers, who shot 41 percent (20 for 49), overcame a subpar shooting game from McKinney, who went 0 for 9 from the field and finished with two points and four assists. Roberts and senior post Fred Harding added six points each.
“It’s definitely a big win, obviously on the road against a very good team, very well-coached team,” Angle said. “A lot of really good players on that team. But in the grand scheme of things, it’s one of 24 in the regular season. We have to just treat it like that and move on to the next one.”
The next one is Friday at Canby (6-10, 1-4).
“Everything we want to accomplish is ahead of us,” Cho said. “There’s no nights off here. There’s great coaches everywhere you go, tough, tough programs. We’re just fortunate to be on top right now.”
Tigard shot 33 percent (18 for 54), including 3 of 15 from three-point range. Sophomore wing Drew Carter had 11 points on 5-of-16 shooting.
“We came into this game thinking we’re going to win,” Schlabach said. “We have confidence in ourselves. It didn’t come out that way, but they’re a really good team. It says a lot about our program. … We can use this as a learning experience for future games.”
