Lafayette wards off LFO challenge
The Region 6-AAA playoffs don’t begin for another month, but fans were treated to a little taste of playoff intensity at Dan Priest Gymnasium on Friday night.
The No. 5-ranked Lafayette Ramblers took a few early punches from visiting LFO, but the Orange-andBlack would answer the bell and go on to a hard-fought 65-51 win over the Warriors in a matchup of two of the region’s heavyweights.
Lafayette trailed 19-11 after the opening quarter and were still down by eight three minutes into the second quarter, but smothering defense helped get the offense back on track as a 12-3 run gave the Ramblers a 29-28 lead going into the locker room.
A 9-0 run to begin the second half gave the Ramblers a little more breathing room. A couple of a strong drives to the basket by point guard Jaylon Ramsey got the offense going and Hadaway punctuated the run with a slam to put his team up 3828 with 3:30 remaining in
the quarter.
LFO would cut the lead in half over the next three minutes, but guard Junior Barber
knifed his way through the lane in the closing seconds and connected on a finger roll off the glass to give La
Fayette a 46-39 lead headed into the fourth quarter.
Zach Barrett buried a big 3-pointer from the corner a minute into the final stanza to push the Ramblers’ lead back out to 10 points and the two teams would continue to exchange baskets for nearly five minutes.
LFO would briefly trim the deficit to 57-51 with 1:42 to play, but Lafayette would seal the win with a final 8-0 run. Barber would hit four straight free throws down the stretch and Hadaway emphatically sealed the victory with a backboard-shaking, one-handed breakaway jam with 35 seconds left. The junior added two free throws with 15 seconds to go to provide the final margin of victory.
Hadaway led all scorers with 21 points for Lafayette, who ended the week undefeated at 7-0 overall and 4-0 in region play. Barber finished with 14 and Decameron Porter went for 13, adding a handful of blocked shots. Ramsey muscled his way for 10 points and Barrett added five.
the arc with less than two minutes left in the quarter. Davis followed up seconds later with a sneaky steal of an inbound pass by the Ramblers and quickly turned it into a basket that pulled LFO to within five, 44-39, with 20 just seconds left in the period.
However, Lafayette would get a lay-up in the closing seconds and they would stretch the lead back out to 10 in the fourth quarter.
Bowman and Davis kept the Warriors alive with 3-pointers, cutting the deficit down to 57-51 with 1:42 to play. But those would be the final two baskets of the night for the visitors as Lafayette used one final 8-0 run to put it away.
Gregg and Davis had 12 points apiece for LFO (7-3, 5-2), followed by Bowman with 11. Burnett ended his
night with seven points. Calhoun had five points, all in the first half, while Keenan Walker chipped in with two.
Adairsville girls 46, LFO 28
In last Tuesday’s opener, the Lady Warriors fell behind 21-11 at halftime and weren’t able to overcome the deficit. No further details had been provided as of press time.
Lafayette girls 50, LFO 22
The Lady Warriors, shorthanded due to injuries to several players, fell behind early and were not able to recover in Friday’s opener.
Zoey Gray-martin scored 11 points for LFO (0-9, 0-6). Madison Stookey had three points, while Ziara Thompson, Presley Piatt, Kaile Richiez and Gracie Cochran each added two.