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.
If Lakewood or Jordan are able to meet their expectations and make a deep playoff run next month, they should both look back on January 12 as a key moment in their journey.
Both teams are ranked in the top three of their respective CIF playoff divisions, and they gave each other one heck of a playoff preview on Friday evening. The visiting Panthers showed they’ve arrived as one of the top three programs in the Moore League, pushing the host Lancers to the wire in a 46-44 Lakewood victory.
“It was a great game,” said Lakewood head coach Eric Oswell, after his team improved to 18-2 with a 5-0 record in league games. “They jumped out on us early, and we had to fight our way back into the game. And from then on it was a slugfest for the rest of the night.”
J-Town did indeed jump out early, taking advantage of Lakewood turnovers to run the floor for easy points in the paint. The Panthers led 14-2 midway through the opening quarter, while holding the high-powered Lancers offense without a field goal for the first 5:22 of game time.
However, once the first one went in on a three-point play for junior Cristina Jones, the Lancers took control of the game in a hurry. The home team ended the first quarter on an 11-0 run, then outscored Jordan 13-6 in the second to take a 26-20 lead into halftime.
“For whatever reason, we came out playing tentatively and we weren’t making our cuts and running our offense,” said Oswell of his team’s start. “We didn’t come out with the energy and the effort needed in that situation to start the game.”
Jordan showed great resilience after halftime, battling back to tie the game at 32 with a bucket from Breana Patu.
Lakewood then scored eight straight to lead 40-32 early in the fourth, led by an outburst from Nyemah King, who finished with a game-high 22 points. But once again J-Town fought back to tie it at 40 apiece in the final minutes.
A key three-ball from Lakewood’s Natalia Apacible put the Lancers up 43-40, and they were able to maintain the lead the rest of the night.
In the final 15 seconds, with Lakewood up 45-44, Jordan was able to force a turnover with an opportunity to take the lead in transition. Lakewood senior captain Amy Rubio then made the defensive play of the night, stepping in for a steal and drawing a foul the other way. She knocked down one of two free throws with just 7.2 seconds left to make it a 46-44 Lakewood lead.
Jordan got their chance the other way as Edwards was fouled with 0.6 seconds on the clock. But after missing the first free throw she then intentionally missed the second, only to see the Lancers successfully secure the rebound and the win.
“It was very fun, that’s my favorite kind of game,” said King, who was the focal point of the Lakewood offense after their slow start. “I’m glad that we stayed together as a team and we didn’t let that affect us. And all we did was just stay composed and work together. And that’s how we got back up.”
Cristina Jones added 12 points for the Lancers, while Edwards led the way for J-Town with 13 to match her number. Micah Lemons added 8 points for the Panthers.
Jordan entered the game ranked as the No. 3 team in the Division 3A rankings, and should be encouraged that they were able to play neck-and-neck with a higher division opponent. They will resume league play on Wednesday when they host Millikan.
The Lancers, meanwhile, are the top team in Division 2A, and are very much in the hunt for a Moore League title with a 5-0 mark in league play. The Lancers visit Cabrillo on Wednesday before hosting Long Beach Poly in a first-place showdown next Friday night.
