Lakeside rolled into a rhythm early, but key defensive stops by Lake Hamilton allowed the Wolves to control the pace of the game, cruising to a 41-23 win over the Rams Friday night at Lakeside Athletic Complex.
Down by 16 points at the end of the third period, Lakeside (9-13, 2-8 5A South) struggled to bounce back as the Wolves (16-6, 6-3) held the home team at bay as the teams traded buckets early. Lake Hamilton pushed out to a 37-18 lead with 3:45 left in the game.
While Lake Hamilton made sure to keep the Rams from making a comeback on a night where the 2000 AAAA state boys basketball championship Rams were celebrating the 20th anniversary of their win, Lakeside held its composure as sophomore Alveon Harris hit a 3-pointer followed by a field goal from junior Joshua Winfrey as time expired to set the final.
"I was very proud of our defense," Lake Hamilton head coach Scotty Pennington said. "I thought we were pretty suffocating at times, and we spent a lot of time preparing for what they do offensively and how to guard it. Our kids really executed the game plan defensively and that helped us to win. You score 41 points [and] usually that's not a good thing, but when you hold somebody to 23, there's more than one way to win, so that's what we did tonight. We found a different way to win."
Both teams provided solid defensive work early with Lakeside junior Seth Poindexter sank the first field goal of the night halfway through the first quarter. A free throw by Alveon Harris made it 3-0 before Lake Hamilton sank three straight field goals to take a 6-3 lead with 50 seconds remaining.
Lakeside junior Logan White hit a quick layup as time expired in the first to allow Lake Hamilton a 6-5 lead going into the second.
"I felt good about it early, and Lake Hamilton was able to hit a few more shots than us," admitted Lakeside head coach Eddie Lamb. "They shot it good there at the end of the second quarter and you got down to 10, and it's just [that] we couldn't ever get any ebb and flow offensively. Defensively we played pretty good; Lake Hamilton scores 40 points and then we score 25 or whatever, but you have to give Lake Hamilton credit. Scotty's kids played hard and made some big shots there. Again, as down as I am right now about not winning some ball games, I'm still extremely proud of our players."
After drawing a foul on a missed trey just 30 seconds in, senior A.J. Winfrey landed 2 of 3 free throws before Poindexter posted up and found the rim for another Lakeside basket. The Rams quickly recovered to take a 9-8 lead before Lake Hamilton sophomore Chase Jessup hit a shot from inside the paint to give the Wolves the lead for the last time.
"I thought Chase Jessup did a phenomenal job on Wylyn [Harris] because Wylyn has really had it rolling, he's a really good player especially for a sophomore," noted Pennington. "Malique [Hill] stepped up, and offensively Cade Robinson, the sophomore shooter, hit some big shots for us [with] the one going into the half to make it double digits. He really stepped up and played well tonight."
Robinson set the tone after clearing his perimeter shot that pushed Lake Hamilton out to 13-9, and after a pair of Lakeside free throws by White, Hill kick-started an 8-0 run after squaring up on the outside for a trey, pushing his team out to a 10-point stretch for a 21-11 halftime lead after Hill's next bucket from inside the arc followed by Robinson's buzzer-beating 3.
The Rams were limited to just 6 points going into the third period, triggered by Alveon Harris' 3-point fader, while the Wolves doubled up in scoring and put up 12 of their own as Lake Hamilton took a 26-14 lead with five minutes on the clock.
Lakeside countered with a made attempt from the free throw line before Lake Hamilton senior Adjani Winston went coast-to-coast for an uncontested Lake Hamilton layup, and Jessup kept the Wolves' upbeat tempo going as the 6-4 sophomore cuffed another bucket from the baseline for a 31-15 Lake Hamilton lead.
A.J. Winfrey landed another field goal from 2-point range with 1:23 remaining for a 33-17 deficit where it remained going into the fourth and final frame.
Hill and Robinson led Lake Hamilton with 11 points apiece while Hill finished with five assists, two rebounds and a pair of steals, and Robinson had two boards and one assist. Jessup tallied 7 points, nine boards, two blocks and a pair of steals, and Milstead, Winston and Watson had 4 points each.
For Lakeside, Alveon Harris led the Rams with 7 points with two assists and one rebound, Poindexter added 5 points with seven rebounds, one assist, a steal and a block, White and Winfrey garnered 4 each, and Wylyn Harris rounded out the scoring with 1 point, five rebounds and a block.
The Wolves host J.A. Fair (13-8, 6-3) on Tuesday, and the Rams travel to Benton (12-8, 3-5).
Sports on 02/09/2020