Lausanne tops Franklin Road to set up all-memphis showdown in Div. 2-A state title game.
Lynx aim for first state title Saturday
NASHVILLE — One of the most successful seasons in Lausanne boys basketball history will have one more game.
Murray State signee Cameron Payne scored 24 points Friday to lead the Lynx to a 53- 47 victory over Franklin Road Academy in the semifinals of the Division 2-A state tournament at Allen Arena.
Saturday at 3 p.m., the Lynx (23-4) will take on Evangelical Christian School in the championship game. A victory there would give the school its first boys state championship; a Marc Gasol-led team lost in the championship game in 2003.
“If we play ECS, it will be the fourth time we’ve played them this year,” said Lynx coach Kenneth White. “And Webb knocked us out (of the postseason) last year.”
The Lynx made it to the championship game thanks to a gutty effort spearheaded by seniors Payne and Denio Chirindja. Payne added six rebounds and four assists to go with his scoring, while Chirindja, a native of Mozambique, had 11 points and eight rebounds while constantly harassing Franklin Road with his energetic defense.
“We were ready to play,” Chirindja said. “The seniors on this team, we want to make it the best team in (school) history.”
Despite playing well in the first half, the Lynx went into halftime trailing 26-25. That was primarily because of FRA’s accuracy from beyond the arc; the Panthers hit 5 of 9 from 3-point range in the first half.
And Payne — among the three finalists for the Mr. Basketball award — wasn’t at his sharpest early.
“I might have been trying to force things a little bit,” he said. “Coach just told us to settle down.”
Not that White wants to stifle his players.
“We didn’t play tight,” he said. “We had a lot of fun and played with a lot of energy.”
A lot of the energy was expended on slowing FRA’s Rob Marberry. The 6-7 junior standout was a non-factor, scoring just two points and grabbing six boards.
“We made a conscious effort to force him to make difficult catches,” said White.
Still, the Lynx were in a battle. FRA pulled to 48-46 when Kessler Bell converted a three-point play with just over a minute to go. But Payne, who went 9 of 10 from the line, and Chirindja combined to hit 7 of 8 foul shots down the stretch to help the Lynx shut the door.
“I just knew that I had to make them so we could get to the championship,” said Payne. “I didn’t want to miss.”
Said White, “All year, these guys have just refused to lose. Our seniors have been waiting to get to this point.”
Bell had 13 points to lead the Panthers (28-4). Dalton Ponchillia made 4 of 8 3-pointers to score 12 points.