KALAMAZOO — Edwardsburg High School junior Dante Razzano is one of the top boys basketball players in Southwest Michigan.

Two of his best games have come the last two years against Benton Harbor in Class B regional semifinal action.

In 2014, Razzano scored 37 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a 73-61 loss to the Tigers.

On Monday, Razzano scored 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in a 66-61 loss to the Tigers.

“He’s a big-time player,” said Edwardsburg coach Steve Wright about Razzano. “He seems to rise in the most difficult occasions. He had a great game.”

The most recent loss hurt more because of the chances Edwardsburg had to win the game.

“I don’t know what it is,” said Razzano about his own play against Benton Harbor. “I just want to move on. You never want to lose at regionals, especially against the same team two years in a row.

“I felt the whole way we were going to win that game.

The win was sealed by Benton Harbor after Jaylin Lee hit two free throws with 2.7 seconds left to give the Tigers a 66-61 lead. Edwardsburg had pulled within 64-61 with 0.6  seconds remaining after Derek Pierce connected on a 3-pointer.

“I thought that ball was long,” Razzano said about Lee’s first free throw which stuck on the back rim for a moment before going through the net. Lee was shooting a 1-and-1. “We were going to get it out and try to get a quick 3. I thought there was still a chance.

“It’s just a great group of guys that I’ve played with the whole year. I can’t thank these seniors enough. The last two years we tried to end on a good note and tried to keep the season going for the guys who were graduating.”

It was the last high school basketball game for Edwardsburg seniors Pierce, Jackson Gaideski, Dalton Raymond, Isaac Vite and Joe Queener.

All of them contributed in a wire-to-wire battle against the defending state runner-up. Gaideski had 15 points and four rebounds, Vite totaled nine points and three rebounds, Pierce had seven points and nine rebounds, Raymond contributed two points and two rebounds and Queener came off the bench and pulled down three rebounds.

Edwardsburg, which finishes at 18-6, jumped out to a 14-6 lead six minutes into the game after getting a three-point play from Razzano. The Eddies still led 18-12 with 7:41 left in the second quarter after getting another basket from Razzano.

Then momentum shifted to Benton Harbor, which forced Edwardsburg into nine turnovers in the second quarter.

Those turnovers turned into easy baskets for the Tigers and the result was a 21-6 Benton Harbor run, which gave the Tigers a 33-24 lead with 1:38 left in the second quarter.

“It was a tough stretch,” Razzano said.

“The press rattled us,” Wright said. “They did a good job and were really aggressive. A couple times we were careless with the ball. They’re really quick and before you know it a tie game turns into being six to eight points down.”

Edwardsburg appeared headed for another double-digit loss to Benton Harbor when the Tigers took a 59-48 lead with 3:32 left in the game.

But Benton Harbor quickly found out that Edwardsburg was ready for a 32-minute fight. A furious Eddies’ rally cut the Tigers’ lead to 62-58 with 23 seconds remaining.

“We were answering the bell all night,” Razzano said. “Last year, I would say the press affected us. We were trying to go up and down with them and you can’t do that.”

Edwardsburg shot 49-percent (27-of-55) from the field and that shooting percentage could have been much better. Throughout the game the Eddies had shots inside roll off the rim. Edwardsburg also missed eight of their 12 free throws, while Benton Harbor made 10 of its 13 free throws.

“We definitely needed to hit the free throws,” Wright said.

“I thought we executed the game plan perfectly,” Razzano said. “We just missed open shots that we usually make.

“I thought we were in the game until the end. We came up short.”

 

BENTON HARBOR 66, EDWARDSBURG 61

Benton Harbor 66

Curtis Dawson 16, Roy Anderson 6, Jaton Gunn 20, Malik Hall 6, Tommie Miller 11, Jaylin Lee 7, Willie Wilson Jr. 0, Jalon Stevens 0. TOTALS: 26 10-13 66

Edwardsburg 61

Dante Razzano 28, Jackson Gaideski 15, Isaac Vite 9, Dalton Raymond 2, Derek Pierce 7, Joe Queener 0, Jon Albrecht 0, Adam Kozinski 0. TOTALS: 27 4-12 61

 

Benton Harbor                     12       33       48       66

Edwardsburg                        16       26       43       61

3-point baskets: Benton Harbor 4 (Gunn 4), Edwardsburg 3 (Gaideski, Vite, Pierce). Total fouls (fouled out): Benton Harbor 13 (Hall), Edwardsburg 10 (none). Shooting: Benton Harbor 26-of-58 for 45-percent, Edwardsburg 27-of-55 for 49-percent. Rebounding: Benton Harbor 31 (Miller 9), Edwardsburg 34 (Razzano 13). Turnovers: Benton Harbor 11, Edwardsburg 14. Varsity records: Benton Harbor 18-6, Edwardsburg 18-6