Lake George’s win streak halted
Over the course of three quarters Saturday morning, Middle Early College’s defensive tenacity and speed were a nuisance for Lake George. In the fourth quarter, the Kats’ ball pressure proved to be Lake George’s undoing.
The Warriors turned over the ball seven times during the fourth quarter and Middle Early College made its final seven shots of the game to help generate a late surge that produced an 80-63 victory over Lake George in the Class C boys’ basketball state semifinals at Floyd L. Maines Arena.
The loss snapped the Warriors’ 56-game winning streak, the longest in the state, and denied Lake George a chance at back-toback titles. The Warriors edged Northstar Christian 66-65 in the 2018 final and reached all three state tournament final fours held in Binghamton since 2017.
Asked to describe that run of success, Lake George senior forward Mason Flatley said, “Legendary. That is all it is.”
Lake George (26-1) and
Middle Early College (22-4), the Section VI champion, exchanged the lead 14 times to go along with nine ties over the first 27 minutes. The last deadlock came at 57 with 4:58 remaining when Lake George senior guard Alex Leonelli drained his fifth 3-pointer of the game. From that point, the Warriors were outscored 23-6 as they went 1-for-8 shooting to go along with five turnovers over that painful game-ending stretch.
“They just turned it up and we weren’t ready for it,” Flatley said. “We didn’t play our best in the fourth quarter. I didn’t play my best in the fourth quarter. They were a really good team and they turned it up in the fourth quarter when they needed to.”
“It was a one-point game going into the fourth quarter. We were right there,” Lake George firstyear coach Blake White said.
“We saw the stats. They shot 45 percent (10-for-22) from (3-point range). That is just tough to deal with. I thought we played pretty good ‘D’, but they got the ball to the open guy. They were just shooting lights out. There is not much you can do. We did our best and it just didn’t work out today.”
Ja’kari Nettles grabbed a rebound and scored to give Middle Early College a 59-57 edge with 4:28 left. The Warriors turned over the ball on their next two possessions, and the second miscue was a steal and conversion by Jamond Jones (game-high 23 points) that lifted the Kats to a 63-57 advantage with 4:10 left.
“We had too many turnovers today to offset their shooting,” White said.
“Once they got that two-possession game (at 63-57), that is when they really started going,” Flatley said of the Kats. “That is what great teams do. They raised the pressure and that is where teams get uncomfortable. They made us uncomfortable.”
The Warriors missed three shots on their next possession and Jones drained a 17-foot jumper to extend the lead to eight points.
“The season we had was just phenomenal. I couldn’t have been happier as a coach. Obviously, today there is a little disappointment, but it doesn’t take away from our season as a whole.”