With go-to center Zach Banner forced to sit his 6-foot-9 frame on the bench with foul trouble for much of the game, a pair of undersized guards came to the rescue for Lakes High.
Dequam Walls and Phillip Winston hit clutch shots in key moments of the Class 3A boys basketball subdistrict loser-out contest Saturday afternoon, leading Lakes past Enumclaw, 78-65, keeping the defending state champion’s season alive.
“Dequam Walls kept us in the game,” Lakes coach JoJo Rodriguez said, “and Phillip Winston brought us home.”
Ninth-ranked Lakes owned a double-digit lead for most of the second half, but when leading scorer Banner fouled out with six minutes to play, Enumclaw made a run.
Dane Ashcraft’s basket with three minutes to go cut the margin to 68-61 and swung momentum in the Hornets’ favor. On the ensuing possession, Winston, a 6-foot sophomore, countered with a jumper, and Lakes stayed in control the rest of the way.
Banner led Lakes with 17 points and six rebounds, while Walls, who made four 3-pointers, totaled 20 points. Winston and guard Andrew Holloway each finished with 14 points.
Drake Rademacher, a 6-7 post, paced Enumclaw (7-15) with 18 points, and Perry Rockwood added 16.
Lakes (14-7) advances to play another loser-out contest. The Lancers will face Lincoln (15-7) at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Franklin Pierce High in the first round of the West Central/Southwest bi-district tournament.
The Abes, the third seed from the Narrows League, beat Lakes, 62-49, on Dec. 22 at Franklin High. Since then, the two programs have been on divergent paths. Lincoln has lost four of its past five games, while the Lancers have won eight of their last nine, falling only to seventh-ranked Decatur.
Holloway thinks Lakes has improved but still expects a stiff challenge from Lincoln.
“Lincoln’s a great team,” he said, “and we’re going to have to be at our best.”
Bonney Lake 59, Hazen 51: The Panthers became the fourth SPSL 3A team to qualify for the bi-district tournament when they topped the Highlanders in the loser-out game.
Bonney Lake will face Mountain View of Vancouver at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Clover Park High.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
No. 7 Lakes 56, Bonney Lake 37: The Lancers will enter the 3A bi-district on a 10-game winning streak after dispatching the Panthers in a loser-out game.
Lakes (18-4) took the lead for good when JaMesha Holland converted a three-point play early in the first quarter that gave the Lancers a 5-3 lead.
Holland led Lakes with 13 points, and Aubre Mitchell added 12.
“It was a collaborative defense effort,” Lakes coach Dave McEachern said.
Lakes will meet Yelm (13-7) in the first round of the bi-district tourney at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Franklin Pierce in another loser-out contest.
Naomi Pounds led Bonney Lake (7-15) with 17 points.
Enumclaw 59, Decatur 46: The Hornets won the loser-out contest and will meet Camas in the first round of the bi-district tournament. Enumclaw will play the Papermakers at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Clover Park High.
Doug Pacey: 253-597-8271 doug.pacey@thenewstribune.com blog.thenewstribune.com/preps Twitter: @DougPaceyTNT
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.