The562’s coverage of Lakewood Athletics is sponsored by J.P. Crawford, Class of 2013.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
In a game seeped in playoff implications, the Lakewood Lancers were able to snatch an important win over the visiting Wilson Bruins on Wednesday night, winning the fourth quarter by a 15-5 margin to escape with a 55-50 win.
Both teams are in the thick of playoff contention, and every game will be important with less than a week left in the regular season. The victory all but clinches a third-place finish for the Lancers in the Moore League standings, and a guaranteed playoff bid that comes with it.
Wilson led after every quarter, but couldn’t hang on down the stretch as Lakewood’s harassing defense forced a slew of Bruins turnovers in the final period. After the Bruins scored the first bucket of the fourth quarter, the Lancers used a key 9-0 run to take a 49-47 lead.
After an And-1 by Wilson’s Nathaniel Parris put the Bruins back on top, 50-49, with 1:19 to go, they never got another shot attempt the rest of the night as forced turnovers and clutch free throw shooting put the game away for Lakewood.
“We finally did some of that,” said Lakewood head coach Duane Cooper of his team’s ability to finish the game well. “We have a senior-laden team, we shouldn’t have problems with finishing games.”
Lakewood had three players in double-figures, led by Keaton Lewis’ 15 points. He struggled to get his perimeter shot going, and made just one of his nine three-point attempts against a stingy Bruins defense.
Kecedric Dockery had 10 of his 13 points in the first half, and Anthony Williams finished with 12 from the point guard spot, including Lakewood’s first go-ahead basket in the fourth and a pair of clutch free throws in the final minute.
“They were for sure clogging the paint, they always had two people in the paint, so it made it tough for us to drive and get it to our people,” said Williams of the Wilson zone defense. “But at the end of the day, I think defense won us the game. Offensively, we did not do great at all. But on defense, we came in clutch and locked up on defense for sure.”
Wilson sophomore big man Andre Alvarez-Smith led the way for Wilson, scoring a game-high 18 points (8/16 FG) to go with 14 rebounds. However, he was just 3/10 in the second half as Lakewood did a better job against him defensively.
Mathew Searles also reached double figures with 10 points for the Bruins, and Jack Vanderspek scored all eight of his points in the second quarter to help Wilson to a 31-29 halftime lead.
A Lewis three-pointer gave Lakewood an early second-half lead, but the visitors took over the game from there, leading by as many as seven points later in that quarter. It wasn’t until Lakewood’s full court pressure started disrupting Wilson’s backcourt, leading to crucial turnovers that allowed the Lancers to get back on top in the fourth.
Williams stepped into the passing lanes for a steal and breakaway layup to put the Lancers on top with under two minutes left, and it appeared we were poised for a back-and-forth finish. After Parris’ three-point play put Wilson up by one, Raphael Johnson put in a bucket in traffic off an assist from Dockery to give Lakewood the lead for good with 51 seconds on the clock.
Johnson had a huge steal on the ensuing possession, getting his hand in to poke away an entry pass intended for Alvarez-Smith. After Williams drained two free throws to put Lakewood up by three, Wilson had a chance to tie with under 10 seconds to go. This time it was Lewis who stepped in to intercept a kick out pass to the three-point line, and his two free throws put the game out of reach.
While it was a quiet scoring night for Johnson with just seven points, he hit the game winner for the Lancers and added six rebounds, four steals and four assists.
Elsewhere in the Moore League, the Jordan Panthers picked up a massive 63-62 win over Cabrillo at Compton College on Wednesday, setting up a compelling three-team race for the league’s fourth and final automatic playoff bid. Cabrillo, Jordan, and Wilson all have a chance to earn that spot, and potential ties are certainly on the table.
Wilson (9-16, 4-6) plays at Cabrillo on Monday night before hosting Jordan in the regular season finale, leaving the Bruins in control of their own destiny if they can win out.
Cabrillo (14-10, 4-5) is at Millikan on Friday, with the Rams essentially locked into second place with a 7-3 league record. The Jags will then have their big game against Wilson next Monday before ending the season at home on Tuesday against unbeaten Long Beach Poly (19-6, 9-0).
Jordan (14-12, 4-6), meanwhile, is hosting the first-place Jackrabbits at McBride on Friday before visiting Wilson on Tuesday in what could prove to be a play-in game for the playoffs. The Panthers won the previous head-to-head meeting with Wilson, 68-66, which would be significant in a potential tiebreaker between those teams.
Lakewood (14-11, 5-5) will aim to secure their third-place standing, facing off against Compton on both Friday and Saturday of this week to conclude the regular season.
“We control our own destiny, so we’ve just got to continue to win,” said Cooper. “And I think above the shoulders, we’ve got to be better. We’ve got to be smarter and more poised. Poise, poise, poise.”
