On Wednesday night, the Lakewood Leopards junior varsity basketball team hosted Hobbton from just up the road, soundly beating the Wildcats thanks to excellent shooting and a suffocating defense from the Leopards. When the clock hit all zeros, Lakewood had taken a 61-49 victory.
After being pounded by the Midway Raiders just two days ago, the Leopards responded in a big way, keeping their foot on the gas throughout the entire game and holding the lead from start to finish.
Lakewood got off to a fast start, posting seven early points to take a 7-2 lead, until the Wildcats began chipping away. Lakewood, however, did not allow Hobbton to ever take the lead or even tie it up. Hobbton tightened the game at 10-9, but the Wildcats would never get any closer as the Leopards knocked down several shots and go up 17-11 in the first quarter.
The second quarter turned out to be even worse for the Wildcats, as they fell behind 28-17 and could not find a way to stop the Leopards on both sides of the ball. At halftime, Lakewood held a commanding 28-19 lead.
The second half was reminiscent of the first. Lakewood continued to make their shots and shut down any potential comeback opportunity that the Wildcats had up their sleeve as the Leopards built their lead to 42-20. Lakewood would close out the game and be the victors, defeating Hobbton 61-49.
Leopards head coach Sylvester Pittman praised his team for the type of vigor they brought.
“We came out with a lot of intensity and that made the difference. We set the tempo right from the beginning,” Pittman said.
Hobbton head coach Gary Cone was upset at how many times the Wildcats turned the ball over, but was proud of the way his team hustled.
“We hustled and got back on defense, but our turnovers just killed us,” Cone stated.
With the win, the Leopards improve to 2-6 overall and are scheduled to play again Friday as they host Rosewood.
Hobbton falls to 2-9 with the loss and is also scheduled to be back in action on Friday, hosting Princeton.