Lakers have easy time vs. Cougars
Lake Clifton setting sights on 7th state championship
The Lake Clifton boys basketball team looked every bit the part of defending Class 1A state champions Saturday.
Taking on an unfamiliar opponent, West Region II champion Catoctin, in the new state quarterfinal round, the No. 5 Lakers were taking no chances.
They started fast with an aggressive defense that fueled their offense — scoring the game’s first 11 points against the Cougars from Frederick County on their way to a 79-32 home win.
Lake Clifton, winner of the North Region II on Thursday, is 21-5 and will return to Maryland’s Xfinity Center on Friday to take on the Havre de GraceFairmont Heights winner in the semifinals.
On Saturday, senior guard Zaccheus Blackwell scored a game-high 23 points with Michael Gray (14 points), Kelvin Spruill (11) and Jalen Morris (10) also reaching double figures.
“We just came out playing hard and prepared,” said Blackwell, who won the 2A state championship with Patterson last season. “All year, we’ve just been putting in the hard work — all year round. It’s paying off for us.”
It paid off in a hurry Saturday as the Lakers made use of their size, skills and athleticism against the Cougars, who played hard and together but were simply overmatched.
Blackwell began with a 3-pointer from the top of the key on the opening possession, and the Lakers were off and running. Gray turned a steal into a layup,
Spruill scored an inside basket after swift passes by Gray and Tyree Green, and then Blackwell hit a jumper and driving layup for the 11-0 advantage.
By the time the Cougars (16-9) reached double figures on an Evan Ott 3-pointer, the Lakers were up 35-10 with 4 minutes, 32 seconds left in the half.
After becoming the state’s first program to win titles in all four classifications — the Lakers won Class 2A in 2018 before dropping to 1A last season — this year’s team has its sights set on bringing home the program’s seventh crown.
Gray knows what it takes and likes where the team is at with two more wins needed.
“It feels good,” he said. “A lot of work, focus, keep your mind, and we got to play together as a team.”
Veteran coach Herman “Tree” Harried, who has guided the Lakers to each of their six state championships, is seeing similarities with this year’s team and those others that have brought home titles. The Lakers are committed to playing defense, sharing the basketball and peaking when it counts the most.
The hardest work remains.
“Whoever you go against this time of year — they have to be doing something right and be good to get this far,” Harried said. “So we’ve earned the right to play down there, and whoever we play earned the right to be there. Nobody wants to go that far and not finish it off, so everybody is going to be hungry and we have to make sure to be hungrier.”