The562’s coverage of Cabrillo Athletics is sponsored by the Cohn Family.
The562’s coverage of Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013.
No team is expected to play its best basketball in December. So while there may be plenty of things to work on for the Lakewood Lancers, they showed an ability to win comfortably on Tuesday night at Cabrillo, running away with a 73-56 victory to move to 2-0 in Moore League action.
“We did okay,” said Lakewood head coach Duane Cooper. “We’re figuring out ways to win when we don’t play our best. We’re a veteran team, but we just haven’t played a 32-minute game yet all season. And when we do that, I think we’re going to be dangerous. When we play 32 full minutes, we’ll be great.”
Senior Kecedric Dockery led the way with a game-high 24 points and had his perimeter jumper working throughout the evening. Classmate Anthony Williams added 18 points, including nine in a breakout second quarter for Lakewood. Senior Raphael Johnson was also in double figures with a dozen.
“It helps me a lot,” said Dockery of having a host of other capable scorers on the floor with him. “I’m an unselfish player, so seeing my other teammates score, it opens up the floor for everybody. So everybody can get a chance to score and get points on the board.”
The game stayed close until the midway point of the second quarter, when Lakewood busted out an 11-3 run to close the half and hold a 37-25 lead at intermission. In the third, Johnson’s ability to drive the lane mixed with Dockery’s perimeter shooting helped Lakewood out to a 19-point edge which effectively put the game out of reach.
After not scoring at all in the opening frame, Williams was able to find driving lanes the rest of the night while also facilitating for others. A total of seven Lancers hit the scoresheet, and the visitors led by double digits for the entire second half.
Cabrillo was led by a 19-point performance from senior Mason Johnson. Guards Lincoln Dean and Jden Siquig each chipped in 11 for the Jags, who drop to 0-2 at the outset of league play. But their best basketball is still ahead of them, with a group of impact transfers waiting in the wings, set to be eligible on Dec. 27. Cabrillo also left several points at the free throw line and missed some open looks on the perimeter, so their slow start shouldn’t count them out for the rest of the season.
The Jags will be back in action on Thursday as they host Compton, meanwhile Lakewood has a big test on Thursday night at home against last year’s co-champions, Long Beach Poly.
