Lisbon senior guard Drew Sweeney went 8 for 9 in the fourth quarter from the foul line to help hold off a late Southern rally as the Blue Devils defeated the Indians 49-44 in Friday's opener at George M. Nace, Jr. Gymnasium in Lisbon.
The Lisbon defense took advantage early and often of a Southern team that lost five senior starters to graduation last year, forcing 26 turnovers in the game.
After the first quarter ended 9-9, the game went into the locker room with Lisbon holding a slim 21-19 lead.
The third quarter was filled with huge momentum swings. Lisbon got on the board first with a free throw, followed by a 12-1 Southern run to give the Indians a 31-22 lead midway through the frame. After a Lisbon timeout, the Blue Devils went on an 11-0 run themselves, retaking the lead at 33-31 to end the quarter.
With 3:00 remaining in the game, the Blue Devils held a 40-34 lead. Southern's Luke Griffith and Dylan Ketchum would both add five points apiece as the Indians totaled nearly a quarter of their scoring for the game in the last two and a half minutes - but the calm hand of Sweeney at the free throw line would vanquish any hopes of a Southern comeback. The Lisbon guard would go on to connect on seven straight from the charity stripe before one rimmed out on the front end of a double bonus with only two seconds remaining and the game already in hand.
Senior Zack Rovnak lead the Devils on the night with 14 points, while Sweeney added 10 (all in the fourth quarter).
Griffith lead all scorers with 20 points in the game while Kyler Woodward contributed 11 points and 8 rebounds for the Indians.
Lisbon (1-0) will travel to Columbiana on December 13. Southern (0-1) will host Heartland Christian on Tuesday.
