T-L Photo/SETH STASKEY BARNESVILLE SENIOR Luke Powell goes up for a shot as Caldwell’s Bede Lori defends during the first quarter of Friday’s game.

BARNESVILLE — Matt Johnson has continued preach patience to his team as it deals with the ebb and flow of a season.

After Friday night, however, the Barnesville head coach believes it might be time to push the panic button.

With its OVAC Tournament hopes fading quickly, the Shamrocks were unable to put the brakes on a losing streak that’s now reached five thanks to a Caldwell squad, which avenged an earlier setback with a 76-64 victory.

“It’s getting close (to time to panic),” Johnson said. “If five straight losses doesn’t mean it’s time to panic then I don’t know what does. What I do know we’re in desperate need of a win.”

Once sitting at 10-1 and seemingly well on their way to not only a berth in next month’s OVAC Class 3A tournament, but also an opening-round home game, the Shamrocks haven’t tasted victory since a victory against Steubenville Catholic on Jan. 7.

“We have to go back to work (Saturday) and hopefully we can go up to Buckeye Local and get a win on Tuesday,” Johnson said. “Right now, we’re just scratching our head trying to figure out what’s going on because when the ball isn’t going in nothing looks good.”

While the Shamrocks are scratching their head, Caldwell is showing a glimpse of what could be in store for the next several years, considering there’s nary a senior on the Redskins roster.

“Our kids are learning how to trust each other and play together,” Redskins head coach Clint Crane said. “This is a big learning year for these guys and to have most of these kids back for two or three more years is going to be big for us.”

Barnesville raced out of the gate with the game’s first 11 points, but cooled considerably and led 19-15 after one and then went even colder in the second. The Redskins — behind the 3-point shooting of Jett Lori and inside play of sophomore Matt Kowalski — surged to a 39-30 lead at the half. Lori hit four triples and Kowalski scored 10 points.

The momentum shifted back to the Shamrocks in the latter stages of the third. Caldwell extended its lead to as many as 11, but consecutive treys from Luke Powell, Jeremy Hunkler and Kason Powell got the Shamrocks to within one, but the Noble Countians eventually held a 53-49 lead at the final break.

In the fourth, Barnesville took its first lead since early in the second quarter when Luke Powell got two at the charity stripe with 5:40 to play and he got a bucket driving to the basket 20 seconds later to get the lead back after the Redskins answered.

From there, however, Caldwell took over. The Redskins, who had just two field goals in the fourth quarter, proceeded to score the next nine, all of which coming from the line. The Shamrocks never recovered. All told, the Redskins meshed 18-of-23 from the line in the fourth and 27-of-35 for the game from the line.

“Honestly, this was probably the worst we’ve shot from the line all year,” Crane said. “I think we’re shooting 85 percent from the line as a team, which is incredible.”

The Shamrocks went more than four minutes between points in the fourth quarter during the decisive spurt.

“We had a period in the second and fourth quarters where we just couldn’t make a shot,” Johnson said. “That’s been the story of this losing streak. We’re just not making shots right now. We’re doing the same things that we were doing early in the year, so it’s tough to tell the kids not to shoot (the ball), but they’re just not going in.”

The Redskins were led by highly regarded and talented freshman Bede Lori. Despite Barnesville’s attempts to make the game physical, Lori finished with 20 points, including 12-of-16 from the line. Coming into the game, he was an astounding 96-of-100 for the season from the stripe.

Lori was complemented by Jett Lori’s 19 and Kowalski’s 16, while sophomore Lucas King also added 11.

Barnesville was led by Luke Powell, who was held under his average. He finished with 29 and is now 45 points shy of becoming the all-time leading scorer in his school’s history. Ayden Hannahs hit four bonus goals in the first half and finished with 12. He actually left the game early with an injury.

“I am afraid (his injury) is probably not good, but it’s way too early to say,” Johnson said. “It’s a shame because he’s really been playing well and become the leader for us in practice and games.”