By Kyle McFadden
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BALLENGER CREEK- It wasn’t too long ago, Tom Kraft stood deflated in front of his young knitted group of kids, grimacing through a melancholy post game speech. Repeated growing pains ached and the light at the end of the tunnel appeared dull. Amid the gloomiest of days in the Linganore basketball organization, there was always hope.
As the youth grew older, player roles were molded, with Thomas Lang among them, a now fourth year varsity starter. Lang would be the first to tell you, that in his freshman and sophomore years where only eight wins were accumulated, there was a sense of utter bitterness. But, little did they know, the struggled two year span would help harden a relentless mindset two years later.
With flaring tempers and a playoff-like vibe to the Tuesday night gym air, mental toughness would be tested. For Lang and Linganore, it wasn’t their first rodeo in an atmosphere relating to the statement mentioned above. That’s where the experience paid dividends and the panic button was pushed aside as Linganore wrapped up their sixth victory in as many games with a 48-40 win over Tuscarora.
“The whole season for us last year was a foundation,” Linganore head coach, Kraft said. “If we were in this game two years ago, we probably wouldn’t have came out on top.”
If you take a flashback to two years ago, the Lancers finished with a 1-11 record in single digit ball games. The winning formula to basketball games seemingly eluded Kraft and company night after night. In their state final run just a year ago, the single digit ball game record improved to 12-5 like a flick of a light switch.
“Last year’s playoff run was very much apart of what we did in this game,” Kraft said. “We had the same mindset. When we were behind, the guys came off the floor and said, ‘We got this’.”
For a large part of the first quarter, Lang pulled off his best impersonation of Steph Curry, going on a three-point barrage. On Linganore’s first possession, he drilled a catch-and-shoot three-pointer. Then the very next, another dropped from three-point-land. The third offensive possession ended like the first two, with Lang splashing home yet another trey.
“Guys were doing a good job of getting me open,” Lang said, who finished four steals shy of a triple-double, posting 20 points, 10 rebounds and six steals. “I was just able to find my shot and keep knocking shots down.”
But, his offensive binge wasn’t over yet as he ended the first quarter with two pull-up three’s from practically the parking lot. Lang’s zoned in shooting performance had his Lancers out on top at the end of the first quarter, 19-11, with Lang accounting for all but two points.
“When you have a player as special as he is, you don’t want to get in his way,” Kraft said of Lang. “We let him know what the expectations are, but you just have to let him play basketball.”
When it appeared the game may get out of hand, like Linganore’s first five games of the season in which they all won by an average of just over 32 points, momentum swung back in Tuscarora’s favor and Lang was held scoreless in the second quarter.
Tuscarora’s Jaylen Washington splashed home a three right before the halftime buzzer to bring the Titans within six, the closest any team has came to Linganore all year long.
The Titans then used the spark from Washington’s three to carry on an 11-2 run to open up the second half that was fueled by John Chaney and Isaiah Tillman. Just like that, momentum was gobbled up and Tuscarora regained control, pushing ahead, 34-31, with minutes remaining in the third quarter.
With Linganore being down for the first time in the second half of the 2015 campaign, much like the previous season, the panic button was pushed aside.
“There wasn’t any panic in the huddle and that’s important to have,” Kraft said. “It goes to show the veteran presence that we have.”
Lang closed out the third quarter by taking a defensive rebound from the other end of the court with 4.4 seconds left to truck down the hardwood and pull-up for his sixth three of the night to beat the buzzer. His shot gave Linganore a 38-36 lead heading into the final frame.
“It was a big shot for us,” Lang said. “I knew we had to get a shot off and I was going to have to push the ball.”
With less than 1:30 remaining in the fourth quarter, and in a three point game, there was a loose ball at mid-court. Right as Tuscarora’s Sean Blaney reach down for the ball that was rolling in the opposite direction of the THS basket, Linganore’s Michael Rajnik lunged forward, diving to the hardwood and getting a hand on the loose ball which such happened to land in the stomach of nearby teammate, Lang.
“I was just thinking, I have to do the most I can to make sure I get to that ball,” said Rajnik, a junior, who sees the floor to capitalize in those pivotal scrappy moments. “I gave my best effort on that play. I knew that was my role.”
It then led to a Jack Staub layup that extended Linganore’s lead, 43-38 with one minute remaining. Who knows, without Rajnik diving for the loose ball in a one possession game, the outcome may have very well been a different story for LHS.
But, it reverts back to maturity and players filling the mold of their roles.
“I keep harping on the experience that we have on this team,” Kraft said. “I’m not one bit surprised Michael dove their, he knows his role. And that’s why our practices have been so competitive. That was a huge turn of events for us, hats off to Michael for making that happen.”
After that, Linganore was boosted by free throws from Keegan Lane, Nicholas Lang and Jack Staub to give them a 6-0 record going into the holiday break.
Tuscarora, meanwhile, falls to 4-2, but head coach Darryl Whiten is optimistic about his teams future.
“We’re only going to get better,” Tuscarora head basketball coach Darryl Whiten said. “We need to learn to value every possession. We’ll grow from this.”
Linganore will hit the road to Salisbury to participate in the Governor’s Challenge next Tuesday, facing Virginia’s South Lakes. Tuscarora will host Seneca Valley in a holiday tournament of their own later this week.
Linganore’s Jack Staub posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Keegan Lane added eight points and five rebounds while sophomore Nicholas Lang grabbed five rebounds for LHS. Isaiah Tillman paced Tuscarora with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Rhashad Johnson pitched in with 11 points for the Titans.
Box score
Linganore 19, 10, 9, 10 – 48
Tuscarora 11, 12, 13, 4 – 40
Individual scorers
Linganore – Thomas Lang 20, Jack Staub 16, Keegan Lane 8, Nicholas Lang 2, Tyler Fleagle 2
Tuscarora – Isaiah Tillman 11, Rhashad Johnson 11, Jaylen Washington 7, Dee Anderson 5, John Chaney 4, Myles Belton 2
Three-point field goals
Linganore (6) – Thomas Lang 6
Tuscarora (3) – Jaylen Washington 1, Isaiah Tilllman 1, Rhashad Johnson 1
