Breaking the hex: Lake Orion stuns Rochester for first district title in 28 years

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

Twitter: @LocalSportsFans

ROCHESTER HILLS — A long drought had to come to an end Friday night at Rochester Adams.

Both Rochester and Lake Orion had not won a district since the mid-1980s, with Rochester’s last district coming in 1988 and Lake Orion’s 1984.

Despite losing in the district finals seven times in the past 27 seasons, including six times to Clarkston and once to Pontiac Northern, Lake Orion finally ended its 28-year district hex with a 48-44 Class A district finals upset of Rochester.

Senior guard Justin Walukonis drilled a three-pointer from the corner with 1:00 to play to put Lake Orion up for good at 46-44 and the Dragons (14-9) staved off Rochester down the stretch to advance to a regional on their own floor Monday.

Lake Orion will face OAA Gold Division champion in the regional semifinals. The Dragons’ last stay in the regionals ended in a 76-56 loss to Flint Central.

“They left me open on the wing and I didn’t even think about it, I just shot the ball and it went in,” smiled Walukonis.

Rochester defeated Lake Orion twice this season, including 61-45 on March 2 and 73-67 on Jan. 30, but could not find the magic on the big stage. The Falcons (20-2) had their 20-game win streak snapped and its district drought extended.

Rochester had its second-lowest shooting night of the season, rivaled only by its season-opening loss to Detroit Loyola, and Lake Orion played a big part in that performance. The Falcons shot just 16-for-48 from the floor (33.3 percent) and made only 3-of-12 three-pointers (25 percent)

Lake Orion finished the night a fine 50 percent from the floor (19-for-38) but also made 4-of-6 three-pointers (66.6 percent).

“I think it was just making shots,” sighed Rochester coach John Pleasant, who is now 0-2 in district finals as head coach. “I think they made shots at the right time and we didn’t. We had our chances.

“I think this one hurts because winning the district was our goal the whole season,” added Pleasant. “But it’s not on one player or any one play. Lake Orion just beat us.”

Rochester’s district futility is now one of the longest in Oakland County.  Although the Falcons have now gone 24 years without a district title, the Falcons played in only their third district final in that long span — also falling to Romeo in 2008 and Pontiac Central in 2000.

Lake Orion, using its size advantage in the first half, led 12-9 after the first quarter and 20-14 at the half.

The Dragons, who struggled with their inconsistent guard play this season, only committed 15 turnovers in the contest. Lake Orion picked up fine games from its backcourt, Walukonis, Damonte Kruse, Drew Losee and Jeremy King.

Kruse finished with 13 points and three assists and Walukonis had 12 points, three rebounds and two assists for Lake Orion. King and Losee also helped handle the Falcons’  defensive pressure to help add to a night when several top-20 schools were knocked out via upset.

“I think the difference was we were able to handle their pressure better and we played with some intensity,” said first-year Lake Orion coach Tom Risi. “We didn’t play with much intensity last week when we played them. Rochester is a very well-coached team and they are very good defensively. Rochester puts ball pressure on, gives you different looks and different presses. Our guards did a fantastic job tonight handling that pressure (and didn’t commit) a whole lot of turnovers. Our turnover ratio was pretty strong tonight.”

Lake Orion pestered the Falcons the whole night. The Dragons only forced nine turnovers, but forced the Falcons into many rushed and contested shots and recorded seven blocked shots on the night.

Although Western Michigan-bound Taylor Perry finished just 7-for-19 from the floor and 4-for-6 from the foul line, he did bow out with 18 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block for the Falcons. Paris Pereira, Rochester’s other four-year varsity veteran, was held to 11 points and just one assist.

Senior guard Mike Klotz scored seven points and 6-foot-7 junior Arben Camaj picked up four points, five rebounds and four blocks for Rochester before fouling out with 2:47 left.

With his team down 46-44, Perry fed teammate Michael Murri for a layup attempt, only to see Lake Orion 6-foot-8 senior center Brad Watterworth maneuver over for the blocked shot.

“I just remember the ball was inbounded, and (Perry) dribbled it down, tried to dump it to (Murri), and I just swatted it and it went out of bounds off of him and was our ball,” explained Watterworth, stunned of how long the school’s district. “It’s been 28 years, that’s amazing.”

Rochester missed four shots in the final 1:30 and also had a turnover with 40 seconds left. Perry had a steal with 27 ticks left and his team still down by two, but the Falcons could not net the game-tying or go-ahead points.

Kruse than sank two free throws with 10 seconds left for Lake Orion to seal the upset.

Watterworth had seven points, eight rebounds and four blocks, while 6-5 sophomore John McCarty chipped in with nine points, four rebounds, two blocks and three assists — his final assist being a kick-out to Walukonis for the go-ahead three-pointer.

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