LODI RALLIES PAST FRANKLIN
Derek Lamb might have to spend some extra time purchasing Christmas presents for his Lodi High boys basketball teammates.
The 6-foot-4 senior center, who didn’t play last season, was busy receiving gifts in the forms of passes from his teammates in Friday’s nonleague home game against Franklin. Along with the scoring presence of guards Jaylin Reed and Chase Shafter, the trio and the Flames posted a 66-55 win over the Yellowjackets at The Inferno.
Franklin led 32-31 at halftime. But Lamb went on a scoring tear in the final 16 minutes of the game. That was because of ball movement by guards AJ Castaneto, Reed and Shafter, who found space to bust through the Yellowjackets’ 1-2-1 zone defense. Lamb was wide open most times near the baseline or inside the paint in the third quarter, which enabled to him to score seven of his 17 points.
“Every game, I’m seeing a little bit better here, a little bit better there,” said Lodi coach Dave Nutting. “Today was a game of energy. I thought the kids had some pretty good energy. I told (Lamb), ‘You better thank your teammates, they really gave you some real good passes.’”
Lamb added, “I went in with confidence. (Assistant) coach Amir (Johnson) has been doing a great job with helping me improve my game.”
Shafter gave Lodi (5-6) the lead for good just over a minute into the third quar-
ter, hitting a 3-pointer that gave the Flames a 39-36 lead. Shafter, along with Reed (team-high 24 points) and forward Mathew Nickel contributed toward the Flames’ scoring. Combined with a 2-3 zone defense that led to Yellowjacket turnovers or missed shots, the Flames led 54-43 over Franklin (4-7).
“I feel we really played as a team tonight, and can see how much we have improved from the beginning (of the season),” Lamb said. “We owe a lot to our coaches.”
The Yellowjackets took advantage of Lodi turnovers in the fourth quarter to record some of their points. But the Flames turned up the heat at the free throw line; Lodi sank 8-of-12 from the line for the win.
“They are just starting to jell,” Nutting said.
Franklin jumped out to a 16-8 lead early in the first quarter. But the Flames rallied toward the end that included a combined four 3pointers from Reed and Shafter that led to an 18-18 tie.
In the second quarter, Reed nailed another shot from behind the arc that gave Lodi a 21-18 lead. Then the Flames went through a scoring drought, not scoring for three minutes. That allowed the Yellowjackets to buzz back into the game, taking advantage of Lodi turnovers to build their short-lived 32-31 halftime lead.
Behind Reed and Lamb in scoring for the Flames were point guard Chase Shafter, who finished with 13 points. Forward Mathew Nickel had five points.
Franklin guard Diego Morales scored half of his team’s points, and finished with a game-high 25 points. Yellowjacket guard Joseph Little had 12 points.
Two days after Christmas next week, Lodi will be in San Diego playing in the Under Armour Holiday Classic.