Lackey’s Proctor on national stage at Under Armour game
Everett scores 22 as Chargers move to 8-1
Following a third quarter in which neither team scored 10 points as the tempo of the con- test was dulled by numerous turnovers from both squads, the Lackey High School boys bas- ketball team edged host Thomas Stone, 59-58, in a Southern Maryland Athletic Conference Potomac Division contest, during a frenetic fourth quarter that account- ed for one-third of the game’s scoring.
Lackey (8-1, 1-0 SMAC Potomac) started the game on a 7-0 run and later forged another sev- en-point lead in the third quarter. But throughout much of the fourth quar- ter, the Chargers were simply looking to with- stand the Cougars’ late surge, yielding the lead only once for a grand total of 33 seconds.
Stone (7-3, 1-1) was facing an uphill battle virtually from the opening four minutes, but it rallied to draw even briefly before the end of the first quarter and again midway through the fourth quarter at 48. The Chargers countered with a three-point field goal from James Wilkerson and a layup from Vincent Parker for a 53-48 lead.
Stone responded with a layup from Kevin Skidmore, another layup from Gary Grant off an assist from Skidmore and a pair of free throws from Donovan McCrae to take its first and only lead of the night at 54-53 with 1 minute 24 seconds remaining, prompting Lackey head coach Sean Fox to call
a timeout to settle his players for the crucial late stage of the contest.
“We knew they were going to be tough and they were going to foul,” said Fox, whose team is scheduled to host North Point at 6:30 tonight. “We wanted to make sure that the guys who went to the [free-throw] line were ready to make those shots. We didn’t make as many free throws as we would have liked (10 of 21 for the night, 47.6 percent), but we made enough. That’s still one of our weaknesses.”
Wilkerson followed by hitting a pair of free throws to give the Chargers the lead again at 55-54, then Vincent Parker hit the first of two foul shots and missed the second. The missed free throw was a key turning point in the game as Wilkerson grabbed the of- fensive rebound and converted it into an immediate layup for a 58-54 lead.
“I think their toughness was the difference,” Stone head coach Dale Lamberth said. “They were just tougher than we were. We needed to get that defensive rebound off the missed free throw. When you let the other team get the offensive rebound and then a layup at that stage of the game, that’s a big turning point.”
Grant countered with a bucket for Stone to make it 58-56 with 21 seconds remaining. After Hakeem Ever- ett (game-high 22 points) hit one of two free throws with 19.6 seconds to play, McCrae responded with a basket to bring the hosts within 5958. Parker missed two free throws with 6.2 seconds to play, but Stone was unable to capitalize when Skidmore’s desperation three-pointer was off target.
“Anytime you face Stone, you know it’s going to be a tough, tough game,” Fox said. “They’re one of the best teams in Charles County and it’s a rivalry game. We knew they were going to battle the whole way. Our guys showed a lot of fight down the stretch.”
Stone players and coaches gradually meandered from the court and the locker room afterward, but Lamberth at- tempted to remind his players immediately after the game that the Cougars season is far from over. Stone will travel to Westlake for a 6:30 tip-off tonight in another cross-county rivalry game, and the Cougars still have another league meeting with Lackey, on Lackey’s home floor on Jan. 27, and could face the Chargers again during the Class 2A South Region playoffs.
“I told the kids the season’s not over,” Lamberth said. “I reminded them that we have practice on Thursday and another game on Friday. We have a lot of things to work on, but it’s still early in the season. We’ll see them one more time, but we have a lot of big games between now and then.”
Lackey gained advantage in spurts on Wednesday, racing to a 7-0 lead soon after the opening tip-off and forged a 10-2 lead on a three-pointer from Everett. But each time the Chargers forged a big lead, Stone had a response. Lackey increased a 33-30 halftime lead to 39-32 midway through the third quarter, but the Cougars rallied to get within two points at 41-39 heading into the fourth quarter.