Leonard 52, Howe 51

By Jack Walker

Staff Writer

The Howe Bulldogs dropped their fourth straight game on Friday night as Leonard got a three-point basket by Matt Williams with 2.8 seconds to play, and came away with a 52-51 win. The trey was Williams' second of the night and he finished with 20 points as the Tigers improved to 6-3 in league play.

The shot spoiled a nice comeback by Howe which had trailed throughout most of the second half before taking a 51-49 lead on free throws by Alex Torres and Dalton Harris. Torres was a big part of the late, fourth quarter run by the Bulldogs, getting to the rim twice on dribble-drive penetrations and knocking down contested shots. He finished with 14 points to lead the Bulldogs. Harris had six points in the first half the help Howe take a 24-21 lead at the break. He finished with nine points as did Kenny "Birdman" Herbert who was held to just two points in the early going.

Baskets by Matt Dowlen and Herbert finished off the half and a three-ball by Jordan Gray followed by his two-point shot gave Howe its biggest lead at 30-25 early in the third quarter. Dowlen had a trey midway thorough the period and Herbert had a rebound and put back to keep the Bulldog on top until late in the quarter.

Williams' first three-pointer of the game gave Leonard a 38-35 advantage at the end of the period.

The two teams battled through three ties in the fourth as neither could pull away. Dalton Harris banked in a shot then Herbert scored from inside as he was fouled, then added the bonus to lock up the game at 40.

Williams and Aaron Moreland were scoring for the Tigers and a shot by Moreland, who finished with 12 points, tied the game at 44-44. Williams and James Arnold scored for the Tigers to counter the play of Torres who had taken over the offensive game for Howe. After Torres' free throws had give Howe its lead, Williams spoiled the night by getting his shot off just before the horn to give Leonard the big road win.

Howe will honor its eight man senior class tonight in the final home game of the season as Melissa provides the opposition.

Leonard 12 9 17 14-52

Howe 11 13 11 16-52

H: Alex Torres 14, Matt Dowlen 11, Dalton Harris 9, Kenny Herbert 9, Jordan Gray 8.