Change is good as Flyers prevail

Fresh off of two losses after a 6-0 start to the season, Lake boys basketball coach Ryan Bowen made an unconventional move Friday night.

He benched his best player.

Wanting to deliver a "wake-up call" to Northern Buckeye Conference leading scorer RaShad Smith, Bowen opted to sit his standout senior for the start of an important league tilt against Otsego.

When the second half began, though, Smith was on the court. Everywhere on the court, it seemed. The 5-foot-11 guard made a flurry of steals, buckets, and assists early in the third quarter, propelling the Flyers to a comfortable 74-59 win at Owens Community College over the preseason league favorite Knights.

Smith scored 22 points -- one more than his season average -- including three straight baskets in the third quarter that gave Lake (7-2, 3-1 NBC) a five-point lead that continued to increase during a 29-point period.

"We wanted to challenge RaShad tonight and see how he'd respond, and obviously, the senior came through for us real well," Bowen said.

Smith, who scored 10 points in the third quarter after being held to three in the first half, wasn't only effective scoring the ball. He added four rebounds, three assists, and two steals that were converted into points, and turned the ball over just twice.

"I just tried to come off the bench with fire and try to lead my team to victory and be a good teammate," Smith said, adding that "I accept my punishment and take it like a man and came off the bench and did what's best for my team."

Also with solid outings for the Flyers were Josh Tantari (15 points, three assists) and freshman Jared Rettig, who matched his season average with 10 points. Otsego produced three double-digit scorers in Ryan Smoyer (16), Jerome Griffin (12), and A.C. Limes (11).

The Knights (5-3, 2-2) began the second quarter with an 8-0 run -- leading 22-13 -- but ended the period on the wrong end of a 10-3 run and watched its lead dwindle to two by halftime. Smith's second-half destruction was hinted at with three seconds to go in the first half when he drove the lane and passed to Ben Swartz for a lay up.

"They got after us and we started throwing the ball all over the gym and momentum turned," Otsego coach Jim Bostdorff said. "We couldn't stop the bleeding."

The gash got deeper and deeper after halftime for the Knights as Smith bombarded them with pressure defense and swift moves on offense. As if he wasn't inflicting enough pain, a 3-pointer that Smith attempted during his onslaught was halfway through the hoop before somehow popping out. By the time the quarter was over, Lake was ahead 58-45, with Tantari dropping six points in the frame. Its lead swelled to 56-41 early in the fourth quarter after a 3 by Rettig.

"We had a good week of practice," Tantari said. "Wednesday and Thursday we went after it hard and we brought that into the game."

Smith agreed with Tantari, noting that something had to change following consecutive five-point losses to Delta and Rossford.

"We realized that something was missing," he said. "At practice and in our meetings we all agreed we weren't playing to our full potential. We tried to come out tonight and play how we were taught and how we practiced."

Contact Ryan Autullo at: rautullo@theblade.com, 419-724-6160 or on Twitter @RyanAutullo.