Grant falls just short against Johnsburg

With Grant and Johnsburg having two wins apiece in the Richmond-Burton/Johnsburg Thanksgiving Tournament, something had to give when the two boys basketball teams met Friday night.

Neither team gave in.

Host Johnsburg wound up pulling out a 48-47 win.

Playing without flu-ridden center C.J. Fiedorowicz, the Skyhawks made all of the little plays count down the stretch.

After guard Mike Dixon (game-high 25 points) scooped in a shot to give Johnsburg a 47-44 lead with 54 seconds left, the Skyhawk defense forced 2 Grant turnovers, including a steal by Mike Dombrowski, who then called timeout while on the ground.

Forward John Dzierzbicki split a pair of free throws, extending the Skyhawk lead to four.

Grant was able to respond with a 3-pointer by sophomore Shane Richardson (13 points) but time expired after the ball splashed through the hoop.

"Give Johnsburg credit," Grant coach Wayne Bosworth said. "They put us in positions that we were not familiar with. They were getting out in the passing lanes and fronting the post well and they were playing good defense."

Grant (2-1) received another strong effort from Gilbert Sheehan, as he poured in a team-high 17 points, despite not starting the game due to missing a team deadline. Sheehan is averaging 18 points a game in the tournament.

"His experience shows," Bosworth said. "He's the kind of guy that we can rely on night in and night out."

Grant will play at 6 p.m. today in the third-place game.