GAINESVILLE -- How to contain Georgia-commit Will Jackson was the key priority for the Lakeview Academy boys as they prepared for the initial battle for first place in Region 8-A against undefeated Athens Christian.<br />
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Lions coach Todd Cottrell felt they did about as good a job as possible on Tuesday night at the Lakeview gym.<br />
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It still wasn't enough, however, as the lanky senior guard poured in 28 points to go with nine assists, a handful of rebounds, and a couple of late blocks for good measure in leading the Golden Eagles to a 69-49 win.<br />
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"He's just that good," Cottrell said. "We did a really good job of guarding him overall but you can't stop a guy like that. The real problem was that we had too many dead spots on offense. You can't do that and expect to beat them."<br />
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Lakeview Academy (7-7, 3-1 Region 8-A) trailed just 44-39 with 4:21 left in the third quarter after a basket by Daniel Fadool but then went more than eight minutes without scoring in the third and fourth quarters. Athens Christian (12-0, 2-0) used the drought to go on a 15-1 run for a 62-40 lead with 4:01 left in the game. The Lions never got closer than 18 the rest of the way.<br />
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Jackson sparked the damage with five assists in a series of fast-break baskets.<br />
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Despite the loss, Cottrell said his group is still in prime position in the region for a playoff run. The loss dropped them into second place but the Lions have region road games Friday and Saturday against the bottom two teams, Towns County and George Walton Academy.<br />
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"I like where we are. We've played a tough schedule but we're improving in some areas. There's still some other areas we need to clean up," he said. "We just need to take it one at a time."<br />
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Lakeview hung tough with the Golden Eagles in the early going. The Lions traded the lead six times in the first 2:20 of the game taking an 8-7 lead on a layup by Daniel Fadool.<br />
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But Athens Christian got its running game going. The Golden Eagles forced three turnovers to spark a 7-0 run for a 14-8 lead. <br />
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Lakeview climbed back to within 14-13 on a Drew Cottrell 3-pointer but Jackson then found his range. The senior scored eight consecutive points to finish off a 16-4 run over the final 2:54 of the first quarter for a 30-17 lead.<br />
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Lakeview opened the second quarter with a 6-0 run to pull within 30-23, but Jackson answered with all 10 Athens Christian points in the second quarter to push the Golden Eagles' lead back to 40-27. The Lions closed out the half with five points in the final 42 seconds to pull within 40-32 by halftime.<br />
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Jackson was a matchup problem the entire first half, finishing with 19 points, including 5 of 7 on 3-pointers, three assists, and three steals. Lakeview's Tae Turner kept the Lions in the game with 10 points and four assists in the first half.<br />
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Turner paced Lakeview with 13 points and five assists. Fadool and Tre Gober had nine points each. Drew Cottrell had eight points, Josh Randolph pulled down eight rebounds, and Fadool also dished out five assists for the Lions.<br />
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Chris Tate had 16 points for Athens Christian, 12 coming off assists from Jackson.<br />
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Athens Christian came into the game with a margin of victory of 23.8 points before Tuesday night.<br />
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<b>Lakeview Academy girls 61<br />
Athens Christian 33</b><br />
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For Lakeview Academy girls coach John Carrick, beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.<br />
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Despite the big region win, Carrick saw things a little differently.<br />
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The Lady lions came out with a flurry using an 8-0 run in the first two minutes and then exploding for nine points in less than a minute to blow the game open. <br />
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"Well, good shooting will make up for your mistakes," Carrick said. "We didn't rebound at all and we didn't really play good defense and we had a bunch of turnovers," he said afterwards.<br />
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Lakeview Academy (9-4, 4-0 Region 8-A) led 19-1 after the big run and took a 27-11 lead into halftime behind the shooting of Marlee Rochester. The senior guard drained three 3-pointers in the first five minutes to help open up the inside for the Lady Lions, who had 14 points in the paint in the first half.<br />
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The win kept Lakeview Academy atop the region standings. But Carrick said they aren't concerned with the standings at the moment.<br />
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"A long way to go," he said. "We're just trying to win the next game. No statements here."<br />
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The Lady Lions made sure there would be no comeback for the Lady Golden Eagles (5-7, 1-1). After a basket by Athens Christian to open the second half, Lakeview went on a 15-0 run over the next three minutes for a 42-13 lead to put the game out of reach. Schyler Miller and Hanna Grogan combined for five 3-pointers in the third quarter.<br />
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Miller finished with 20 points, including four 3 pointers, to lead Lakeview. Grogan added 16 points, including three 3-pointers, and Rochester had nine points for the Lady Lions.