Leopards handle Pups in first home game

Lakewood boys’ basketball team hosted their first home game of the season Friday night, after going 2-1 through their first three games on the road this season. The visiting Lejeune Devil Pups looked to take down the Leopards, but it was Lakewood’s game through most of it, as the Leopards took the 69-60 victory.

The teams came out battling defensively, and not a point was scored through the first minute. The scoring opened with a three-pointer by Lejeune with 6:47 to go in the first quarter.

Lakewood’s first points came on a Dontavius Smith triple, assisted by Dashaun Carr shortly after the opening three from the Devil Pups, tying the game at 3. Carr doubled up on the assists when he sent a rocket of a pass deep in the key to Cameron Williams, who tossed up the layup and gave Lakewood their first lead of the night at 5-3.

The Leopard defense started giving the Pups fits early, as the lengthy duo of Xavier Hall and Cameron Williams shut down the paint while Carr, Smith, and Nakai Owens filled out the guards and forwards positions.

Lakewood had the slim 7-6 advantage before a Hall defensive rebound led to Carr handing him an assist at the other end on a fingertip layup for the big man, which opened the lead up to 9-6 with 3:03 to go in the first period.

Jaziah Brunson went for a floater through the lane before quickly passing it to Owens, who sank a baseline jumper and gave them the 11-6 lead, forcing a Lejeune timeout with 2:40 to play in the opening quarter. Carr pickpocketed a steal and took it to the other end for a score after the break, and a Williams block sent Brunson to the other end on a breakaway layup, which he sank, but was fouled on. He hit the ensuing free throw, and Lakewood had the 16-6 lead with under two minutes to play.

The Devil Pups made a run at the end of the quarter, tightening the score back at 16-13 before Williams sank a long jumper to stop the run. Lejeune responded with a deep three at the end of the quarter, making it an 18-16 lead for Lakewood on the heels of a 10-2 run by the Pups to end the opening period.

Brunson made Lakewood’s first basket of the second quarter when he went 2-for-2 on free throws with just under seven minutes to play. Two more baskets went through for the home team, and they started a run of their own with the 22-16 lead in the second quarter.

Williams hit back-to-back jumpers from the left elbow and propelled his team to the 26-16 lead with 5:13 left in the second quarter before they forced another Lejeune timeout.

The Devil Pups were able to stop the bleed a bit, but not much, as the score moved to 29-19 with three minutes left in the half. A Hall block led to him being assisted another layup at the other end, and Lakewood moved to a 31-19 lead.

Things were clicking for the Leopards all around, with a stifling defense, rebounding skills that couldn’t be matched, and nearly every shot falling for them. They held the 34-24 advantage at halftime.

Scoring in the second half was opened again by Hall, who hit a put-back layup in the low key to give the Leopards the 36-24 lead. He added two more on a similar play a minute later.

Things continued moving in Lakewood’s favor when Smith hit a floater up the middle, Williams finished a drive with a turn around jumper in the low block, and Brunson took a fast break for an easy score. Quickly the Leopards moved to a 44-26 lead with 3:59 to play in the third. Since the Pups’ 10-2 run to close out the first quarter, they were outscored 28-10 to this point.

As the clock showed 1:48 left in the third, the score stood at 46-32, with Lakewood in full control.

While they had the lead, the Leopards still found themselves in serious foul trouble late in the quarter — they had tallied five after just six minutes of play.

A deep layup by Williams stretched the lead out to 48-34 with under half a minute to go in the period.

Scoring opened for both teams in the fourth quarter. With under five minutes to go in the game, Lakewood jumped out to a 57-44 advantage on plays from Hall, Williams, and company.

Williams sent another basket home on a drive down the baseline, giving them the 59-46 lead before the Devil Pups took the ball down the court and returned the favor.

The points kept falling for the Leopards, but the Devil Pups made a valiant attempt at comeback. It was too-little-too-late though, and Lakewood took the 69-60 victory in front of their hometown crowd.

“It feels really good,” Leopard head coach Brandon Powell said after the game. “The guys are really growing. They’re starting to get a little bit of cohesiveness and work together better. Communication is a little better, which is why the defense is better tonight.”

The Leopards moved to 3-1 on the season. They will host East Columbus on Thursday in the Chasity Melvin Holiday Tournament. Tipoff for that game will be 8 p.m.