Last-second 3 lifts Massillon over Lake girls, snaps streak

All good things must come to an end, and with that in mind, Lake’s five-game winning streak is no more.

It was Massillon’s Hanna Nicola who delivered the decisive blow, nailing a three-pointer as time expired to give the host Tigers a 68-65 victory in a Jan. 10 nonconference game.

With the score tied at 65, Lake was whistled for a late foul with about 7.5 seconds remaining. From the baseline, Nicola, a senior shooting guard, inbounded the ball to Delaney Pierce, who dribbled to the three-point line and handed it back to Nicola for the game-winning shot.

Massillon took an early lead, but Lake responded and tied the score at 28 going into halftime. After a wide-open third quarter in which the teams combined for 44 points, the Tigers carried a 51-49 lead into the fourth.

Wasted in the loss was a strong shooting performance by Savanna Horning, who connected on five 3-pointers and scored 19 points. Hayden Croyle led the Blue Streaks (8-6) with 22 points, while Kaitlyn Josef added 13 points and a team-high nine rebounds.

Nicola led all scorers with 29 points, and Pierce added 22 for Massillon, which improved to 10-3.

Before the loss, Lake earned another Federal League victory with a 46-27 rout of visiting GlenOak on Jan. 7 to move to 5-2 in league play.

Lake took control early, jumping to a 15-3 lead after the first quarter and extending it to 27-10 at halftime.

Croyle again paced the Blue Streaks with 22 points and nine rebounds. Josef added seven points as Lake improved to 5-2 in the Federal League. Hannah Ecksmith scored 11 points for GlenOak (5-6, 1-6).

Boys basketball

No team wants to be the one that gives a winless opponent its first victory, but that was Lake’s fate on Jan. 6.

The Blue Streaks fell 65-47 at GlenOak, which entered the game as the last winless team in the Federal League. GlenOak took control early as Lake struggled offensively, particularly in the first half.

The Golden Eagles led 14-4 after one quarter and 29-10 at halftime as Lake shot 3-of-18 from the field in the first two periods.

Lake showed signs of life in the second half, cutting the deficit to 12 points at 44-32 with about five minutes remaining, but missed layups prevented a closer finish.

GlenOak (1-7, 1-4) regrouped and pulled away for its first win of the season. Dom Maricocchi led Lake (5-7, 1-4) with 13 points off the bench, while Lucas Draher added 11.