Jaziah Brunson finds room to move.
                                 Daron Barefoot|Sampson Independent

Jaziah Brunson finds room to move.

Daron Barefoot|Sampson Independent

<p>Nakai Owens stretches out to make the layup.</p>
                                 <p>Daron Barefoot|Sampson Independent</p>

Nakai Owens stretches out to make the layup.

Daron Barefoot|Sampson Independent

To kick off their season, the Lakewood Leopards hosted East Columbus in non-conference basketball action on Tuesday. For most of the game, the Leopards looked like they were on their way to victory, but a late-game collapse proved costly as East Columbus rallied for a 49-47 victory.

The first quarter of the contest was a fiery, fast-paced style. The Leopards came out to a blistering start, led by a quick seven points by Jaziah Brunson. They built an early 6-point advantage, but East Columbus weathered the early storm and stuck close. After a very fast first eight minutes, Lakewood led 16-14.

Another player heavily influencing Lakewood’s scoring was Cameron Williams, who surpassed Brunson at a tally of eight points in the early going of the second quarter to make it 18-14. Perhaps the one area the Leopards were struggling was defensive rebounding as the Gators had numerous second-chance opportunities. With 5:05 left to go in the first half, East Columbus whistled for timeout to steady the pace of the game, trailing 20-16. From there, it was all Lakewood. Again propelled by a quick spurt from Brunson, the Leopards opened an advantage and took a 32-21 lead to the locker room at halftime.

Out of the break, there was a bit of a momentum swing as East Columbus began to chip away at the lead. The Gators tallied the first two baskets of the third quarter, making it 32-25, and after suffering a two and half minute scoring drought, Lakewood signaled for timeout. Out of the break, East Columbus hit again and made it 32-27. Free throws by Williams finally got Lakewood on the board, putting them back ahead by seven at 34-27 with 3:47 left in the quarter. Down the stretch, turnovers became a big issue for the Leopards and the Gators got back into contention at 35-31 as a result. An “and-1” by Shamell Little, though, put Lakewood back out in front by seven at 38-31 with 45.4 left in the quarter. That score held the remainder of the period as the game entered the fourth quarter.

The Gators again made another run at the Leopards to kick off the fourth quarter, getting back to within 38-34 at the 6:59 mark. Lakewood, though, countered with a pair of free throws by Williams and a 3-ball by Tony Freeman to put the lead back at 43-34. Later, a nifty move and layup through the lane by Brunson made it 47-37 with 4:00 left to go. East Columbus wasn’t done just yet, though, as they kept on fighting to get back into the thick of things. After a couple of baskets off of turnovers, the Gators trailed 47-41 with 2:39 left, yielding a Lakewood timeout. Out of the break, another turnover and free throw made it 47-42. With 2:03 left in the game, another timeout was called. After another Lakewood turnover, East Columbus’ Jaquise Smith stunned everyone when he flushed back-to-back 3-balls to give the Gators the 48-47 lead with 1:08 left to play. Another Lakewood turnover yielded free throws with under a minute to play, but East Columbus missed both and Lakewood got the ball back. With 28.3 left, the Leopards had the ball coming out of a timeout. Zane Faircloth was fouled, putting him at the line for a 1-and-1. He missed the shot, but the Leopards got the rebound with another chance to tie or take the lead. This possession was a sloppy one, though, and Lakewood lost the ball on another turnover and committed a foul. Jaden Troy went 1-for-2 at the line, making it 49-47 with 5.5 left. The Leopards had one final half-court heave, but it missed the mark and East Columbus completed the comeback, winning 49-47.

Scorers for Lakewood were Brunson and Williams each with 16 points. Demarion Eason had seven points, Freeman had five, and Little had five points.

With the loss, Lakewood opens the season at 0-1. After enjoying the Thanksgiving break, they’ll pick back on Monday at Clinton. Game time is 6 p.m.

Reach Anthony McConnaughey at [email protected]