Westside tops Lakeside
Aubern Marshall strolled off the court after the second quarter with a smile.
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Lakeside's Earl McCrommon passes the ball as Westside defenders converge on him. The Lakeside boys team lost to Westside 59-30. The Patriots used a 17-point run in the third quarter to pull away. Lakeside beat Westside 54-49 earlier in the season.
Photo by Jonathan Heeter
The Lakeside freshman had just dominated Westside during the second quarter, scoring 15 points and helping the Lady Panthers take a 27-25 advantage into the half.
But Marshall didn't play another minute for the rest of Thursday's game.
After playing four quarters of the junior varsity game earlier in the afternoon, Marshall could only play one quarter of the varsity game. The Georgia High School Association allows a player to play only five quarters in one day.
"She played a great quarter," said Lakeside coach Drew Shelton. "We certainly could have used her another quarter. Who knows, things might have been different."
The Lady Panthers (2-9) went on to lose to Westside, 55-53, in overtime.
Marshall's entrance into the game helped Lakeside score 20 points in the second quarter, with the freshman scoring 15 and getting assists on two other baskets in the quarter.
"She has the physical ability (to play varsity)," Shelton said. "She was having trouble with confidence. It was something she wanted to do (going down to junior varsity)."
Lakeside played with only nine players because a few were out of town for Christmas vacation.
Perrin Fryer came alive for the undermanned Lady Panthers down the stretch, scoring on a number of layups in the fourth quarter but Lakeside trailed 53-52 with two minutes left in the game.
Lakeside's Perrin Fryer shoots between two defenders in overtime. The Lady Panthers lost to Westside 55-53. Fryer came alive for the undermanned Lady Panthers down the stretch, scoring on a number of layups in the fourth quarter, but missed a shot with one second left to end the game.
Photo by Jonathan Heeter
"We want our guards to spread the floor and break down the defense to find players for easy layups," Shelton said. "Perrin and Aubern did a good job of that today."
Westside tried to burn out the final two minutes but Lakeside got the ball and Tina Campbell was fouled. She made one free throw to tie the game and Megan Lloyd blocked a shot as time expired to send the game to overtime.
Westside replicated its ball-control offense, holding the ball for three of the four overtime minutes.
Fryer missed a shot with one second left to end the game.
"We played hard and we played smart," Shelton said. "We just came up one basket short."
The Lakeside boys also lost to Westside, but the margin wasn't as close - a 59-30 loss.
The Patriots used a 17-point run in the third quarter to pull away from a Panthers team they lost to earlier this season. Lakeside beat Westside, 54-49, for its only win of the season.
"We couldn't control Earl McCrommon in the first game," said Westside coach Marvin Fields. "Earl is going to get his points; he had 27 against us. He was at Westside so we knew what he could do.
"But you have to keep the other guys at bay. I think we did a good job defending the other players."
Westside also benefited from the return of its best player Eric Taylor, who missed the past 12 games, including the first game between the teams, with an ankle injury.
"He definitely gives them a different dimension," said Lakeside coach Donnie Burch. "He is a great player and any time a team is missing a key player, they won't be as good as they really are. I think they are a really good team with him in the lineup."
Lakeside hasn't won since the two teams met Dec. 10 and have been blown out in many of the games since.
"The one thing I feel good about is that we are staying real positive," Burch said. "Our record isn't real good but we are out there trying hard and having fun. The region tournament is still far away and we can get better for that."