The562’s coverage of Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013.
The562’s coverage of Jordan Athletics is sponsored by former LBUSD superintendent Chris Steinhauser.
There aren’t many better scenarios for the Lakewood Lancers to be in midway through the season, as their 76-58 win over Jordan on Friday night keeps them tied in first place with a perfect 5-0 Moore League record.
“Our goal today was just to go 1-0,” said Lancers head coach Duane Cooper. “We just take them as we go. Every game we wanna go 1-0.”
The Lancers have gone 1-0 against each of their Moore League opponents, doing so in similar fashion with multiple guys stepping up each game. Each of their last four league wins have come by double-digit margins.
In just the first quarter on Friday, Lakewood spread the ball around with each of their starting five finding points in the period, led by Devin Butler’s 10-point first quarter. The Lancers finished with 25 points in the quarter to take a 25-12 lead, one that they’d hang onto for the entirety of the game.
“I’ve been saying it to anyone who will listen – we don’t just have ‘that one dude’,” said Cooper. “We have a number of guys who can do some things and on different nights different guys are gonna lead us in scoring. We moved the ball around well and that was the key. If you’re gonna be able to handle Jordan’s pressure it’s not gonna be just one dude. We have to do it collectively and do it for 32 minutes.”
Lakewood finished with game-highs of 16 points from Butler, Anthony Williams, as well as Keaton Lewis, who left a bigger impact than just what the stat sheet reads.
The 6-foot-2, 175-pound junior looked to dunk on just about anyone in his way, as he rose up for two huge dunks down the lane that caused the crowd to erupt onto their feet. Despite one of the dunks being waved off, Lewis’s energy was without-a-doubt a difference maker in keeping Lakewood’s energy up through the course of the game.
“When the adrenaline is going in my body and I see an open lane I just go up for it,” said Lewis. “We just had to turn up the energy with the big crowd.”
The Lancers found themselves up as much as 28 points in the third quarter, and cruised out of the night with another Moore League win under their belt.
As for the Panthers, Jaymari Redmond led all scorers with 17 points, and Daveyon Chisom added 14 off the bench. Jordan will look to get back in stride on Saturday against Grant, then they’ll visit St. Anthony on Monday at 4:30 p.m. for an intriguing local matchup. Jordan returns to league play hosting Millikan next Wednesday.
The Lancers will be away against Cabrillo on Wednesday, before a huge first-place showdown against Long Beach Poly at Lakewood on Friday night. Both teams are unbeaten in league and tied atop the standings.
