Multiple flagrant fouls by Magnolia emphasized the junior Panthers' frustration in the final minutes of Thursday's 5A-South district tournament final against Lakeside.
The junior Rams claimed the district championship with a 43-33 victory at Hot Springs' Trojan Fieldhouse.
"I thought we played hard and that we played well; they were a really tough team," said Lakeside junior high coach Cody Lambert.
"They've only been beaten twice this year, and both times were by us. We played the best game of the year tonight, so that was a good time to play it."
Jamison Craig hit two field goals early in the first and sparked an 8-2 run for Lakeside as the teams approached the 4:00 mark in the opening period. Wylyn Harris and Brock Garner hit one layup a piece to up the Rams' lead to 10-6 with two minutes remaining.
Taevon Johnson found Craig on an alley-oop pass to the rim for the final score of the quarter pushing Lakeside ahead, 12-6. Craig paced the Rams with eight points in the first quarter alone.
With 1:20 left before the halftime break, Tyler Fredrick buried a shot from behind the arc. Johnson added four points of his own from inside the lane to seal the lead for the Rams, 19-11.
"I thought everyone played great," Lambert said. "Our bench was in the game and they played great, as well.
"It was a heck of a season. This is a great group of kids and when they get to high school, this thing's really going to start rolling. I'm looking forward to it."
Moments into the second half, Johnson worked past his defender and drove in for a quick layup. He added a trey with two minutes remaining in the period. Fredrick added on of his own as the junior Rams led, 28-19, going into the final frame.
Magnolia trimmed the gap to 38-33, but Lakeside scored the final five points of the game.
Fredrick led Lakeside with nine points and three rebounds, while Craig and Johnson scored eight points apiece. Craig also had six rebounds and Johnson made four assists.
Harris was the top rebounder for the junior Rams with 10 boards to go with three points. Mills had six points, five rebounds and three steals.
Sports on 02/16/2019