WATERFORD >> Same teams. Different night. Much different result.

Meeting again less than a month after Bloomfield Hills Cranbrook Kingswood clobbered Waterford Our Lady of the Lakes by 35 points, Monday’s rematch proved wholly unlike the first go-around.

Cranbrook led by single digits for most of the game, but Our Lady of the Lakes was able to hang around until it caught fire offensively in the fourth quarter.

The Lakers outscored the Cranes 18-8 in the final stanza and survived a last-second 3-point attempt to secure a redemptive 55-52 home-court win.

“We don’t play a lot of kids right now, so I told them, in eight minutes, to give me everything they have,” WOLL coach Marc Summers said of his message to begin the fourth quarter. “As the game kept going on, I told them not to get too nervous because this is fun and that’s what it’s supposed to be about.”

Nonetheless, the Lakers had to survive some tense moments in the final minutes with just a one-possession lead. As Cranbrook deployed a full-court press for the first time, WOLL escaped some tight spots to get the ball over center.

The Cranes were afforded one last possession with 1.3 seconds remaining for a chance at a game-tying 3-pointer. Cranbrook got an open shooter off the inbounds play, but the long-range shot narrowly missed the mark.

“I wasn’t too happy with that, but at the same time, we made them take a 20-something footer,” Summers said of defending the final chance. “We’ll take our chances with that. To lose to them by 35 last time, and be up with under a minute to go, I’m so happy for the boys.”

The Lakers trailed 44-37 at halftime, but quickly knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to draw within a point. By the end of the third quarter, however, Cranbrook’s lead had returned to seven points, forcing WOLL to regroup once more.

The Lakers opened the fourth quarter on a 9-2 run and tied the game when senior Jacob Thierry sank consecutive baskets. The lead changed hands a few more times before a pair of free throws by junior Kyle Cartier put WOLL in front for good with 1:10 to play.

Senior Vince Oliver posted a game-high 16 points for the Lakers (4-8, 2-4 CHSL Intersectional I), with seniors Noah Robak and Cameron Howell adding 14 and 10 points, respectively.

The loss dropped Cranbrook’s record to 9-3 (4-2).

“We missed so many easy shots over and over again. Once we missed the first couple, it started getting in our heads,” Cranbrook coach Shane Finney said. “We tried to place the ball instead of shoot the ball. We had some of our best guys not have their best nights.

“Give Lakes credit. They battled and they are tough … Defensively, they got in our face and really boxed out. They did the little things right that we did not do.”

Senior Torrell Williams paced the Cranes with 14 points, while Jordan Benson recorded 12 and Clark Doman had six.

Looking ahead, Cranbrook will be on the road at Royal Oak Shrine on Wednesday, while WOLL is off until next Monday when it travels to Madison Heights Bishop Foley.

Source: Our Lady of the Lakes gets payback in 55-52 win over Cranbrook