Lourdes saw a 14-point lead turn into a one possession game in the final minute on Saturday afternoon, but held on to defeat Lawrence Tech 57-54 at Tam-o-Shanter.
 
"We are very fortunate to earn the win," head coach Andre Smith said afterwards.  "Give the credit to Lawrence Tech.  They played hard and their match-up was effective.  The last eight or nine minutes we didn't play very smart."
 
The Gray Wolves led just 13-12 before holding Lawrence Tech without a field goal for more than five minutes while extending the lead to eight.  The advantage eventually grew to 12 following a three-pointer in the final minute of the stanza by E.J. Blackwell (Rochester, Pa./Rochester H.S.) before taking a 34-24 lead into the locker room.
 
Lourdes shot 48.4% from the floor in the opening 20 minutes while scoring 10 points off of Blue Devil turnovers and adding 10 second chance points.
 
A layup by Alonzo Hamilton (Linden, N.J./The Robinson School) pushed the lead to a game-high 14, 48-34, with 10:51 to play before the Blue Devils made their first run.  A three-pointer by Cameron Graves cut the advantage to six, 49-43, before Lourdes pushed the lead back to 12, 56-44, with under four minutes remaining.
 
The Gray Wolves went without a field goal over the final 5:15 of the contest, shooting just 28.0% from the floor in the second half.  Lawrence Tech scored 10 unanswered points to pull within two, 56-54, with 18.3 seconds remaining on the clock.  Julian Johnson (Columbus, Ohio/Horizon H.S.) split two free throws with 15.7 left giving the Blue Devils one final chance to tie.  With the clock winding down, Jon Harden misfired on a 23-foot triple try from straight out, allowing Lourdes to survive with the victory.
 
Blackwell led Lourdes with 14 points while Zach Steinmetz (Toledo, Ohio/Saint John's H.S.) and Anthony Swanigan (Indianapolis, Ind./Pike H.S.) both tallied double-doubles.  Steinmetz had 11 points and 11 rebounds while Swanigan tallied 10 points and 10 boards.
 
Harden led Lawrence Tech (2-9, 2-4 WHAC) with 14 points while Graves tallied 12 points and 11 rebounds.  Jake Mullin also finished in double figures for the Blue Devils with 10 points and added five assists.
 
Lourdes (5-4, 2-4) will host Akron Wayne on Tuesday evening at the Merillat Sport and Fitness Center on the campus of Adrian College.  Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.