There was no doubt about Lowell’s strategy under the circumstances.
With the Red Devils trailing Morton by a point, it was up to John Cory to make a play. And the senior guard did.
Cory’s driving layup with seven seconds left Tuesday night lifted Lowell to an 81-80 home win over the Governors.
“Coach (Joe Delgado) just told me to get the ball to the rim,” Cory said. “We’ve been here before. He trusted me, my teammates trusted me and I trust my teammates if I miss, they’ll get the rebound. That’s why I went a little early.”
Cory had a game-high 28 points for the Red Devils (13-7), who played without standout senior guard Nick Mantis.
It was a familiar scenario for the Governors (13-7), who have lost six straight games to Lowell. In a sectional game last season, Cory hit a 3-pointer with 0.7 seconds left to snap a 71-71 tie and finished with 35 points.
“Everybody has a theory on what we should’ve done at the end,” Morton coach Robert Hall said. “Cory’s a good player. We knew the ball was going to be in his hands and he was going to do what he was going to do — drive, go back door or get it to a guy at the basket.
“You beat yourself up — maybe we shouldn’t have crowded him, maybe we should’ve taken a charge, a lot of different things. It just didn’t work out for us.”
Tyreion Jackson’s contested 3-pointer missed as time expired after he hit two free throws with 19.5 seconds left to give the Governors an 80-79 lead. Delgado then called timeout.
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“We wanted to spread it out and put the ball in John’s hands,” Delgado said. “We thought he could get to the basket on anyone, he has such a quick first step. He came through for us.”
Jackson and Jarel Triplett had 26 points each for Morton, and Jare’y Triplett added 12.
Lowell placed five players in double figures. Behind Cory, Bailey Laumeyer had 15 points, Noah Durr 14, Grant Monix 11 and Zach Redmon 10.
Mantis missed his second straight game with a high ankle sprain, Delgado said. He likely will sit out Thursday’s makeup game at East Chicago Central and should return next week.
“We want him back, we need him back,” Cory said. “But we’re getting a lot of guys stepping up.
“It was a great all-around team effort. It wasn’t just that one play or just one player.”
By winning the fast-paced game, Lowell snapped a three-game losing streak, having last played on Feb. 2. Morton had won five straight games.
“We played hard for most of the game,” Hall said. “Those guys are a little stronger, a little more physical, but we didn’t quit.”
Twitter @MichaelOsipoff