GAINESVILLE — A sick Blake McIntyre sat not so quietly next to coach Todd Cottrell for three quarters as he watched his Lakeview Academy team fall 11 points down to George Walton Saturday in their Region 8-A opener.
Finally, Cottrell had heard enough from the senior guard.
“Blake has the flu and was talking at me the entire time about putting him in but we were trying to get through this game without using him,” Cottrell said. “But when we got down that much he said let him play so we decided to let him. It’s his senior year so I’m not going to keep someone from playing unless it’s serious.”
It turned out to be the right call as McIntyre sparked the Lions with 8 points in just over a quarter as the Lions rallied for a 74-68 win in overtime at the Lakeview gym.
Lakeview (10-5, 1-0 Region 8-A) needed everything McIntyre could give as they had to overcome a career night from George Walton senior Brelan Holston, who poured in 43 points on a variety of shots. Holston had 21 of the Bulldogs' 34 first-half points and 42 of their 62 points in regulation.
The Bulldogs (4-11, 1-1) used a 10-0 run in the first quarter to erase a quick Lakeview lead after Adam Cottrell had buried three 3-pointers to give the Lions an 11-7 lead. But Holston poured in 15 points alone in the second quarter as the Bulldogs stretched their lead to 34-24 by halftime.
The Lions whittled the lead down to 46-42 heading into the fourth quarter, and Sam Stewart tied the game at 56 on back-to-back 3-pointers. Holston scored 13 of the Bulldogs’ final 16 points. But the Lions held Holston to just 1 free throw in overtime as McIntyre gave the Lions the lead for good with a long 3-pointer and sealed it with a pair of free throws with 5 seconds left.
Lakeview’s balance eventually proved to be the difference. No other George Walton player had more than eight points.
Cottrell and Arturo Varela matched Holston with Cottrell pouring in a team-high 26 points. Varela had 18, all in the second half and overtime. KJ Millwood added 7 points and 8 rebounds.
“We didn’t have anyone who could really stop (Holston) but we finally got some shots to fall in the third quarter and made a few stops on defense,” Cottrell said. “Sam hit two huge shots and really I’m just proud of how the guys fought back. That was a huge win for us.”
Holston outshot the Lions by himself from the free throw hitting 18-of-22 while Lakeview as a team was just 12-of-20 from the line. The Bulldogs were a blistering 31-of-36 from the line for the game. But 10 George Walton turnovers in the second half and overtime led to 8 Lakeview points.
Lakeview had just 7 turnovers for the game.
LAKEVIEW ACADEMY GIRLS 58,
GEORGE WALTON 15
The Lady Lions used a huge first-half run to take control and roll to the big win in their Region 8-A opener.
Lakeview (12-4, 1-0 Region 8-A) opened the game with a Jackie Allen 3-pointer but the Lady Bulldogs (6-8, 1-2 Region 8-A) tied the game at 5 with a 3-point play by Emma Adair early in the first quarter.
Eliza Snyder then got the big run started with a 3-pointer and Allen converted a steal and layup moments later. Snyder drained another trey in the final minute and Allen closed out a 17-1 run to end the first quarter with another steal and layup just before the buzzer for a 22-6 lead.
George Walton closed to 22-8 to open the second quarter but Lakeview answered with an 11-0 spurt, capped by a Savannah Kinsey 3-pointer, and eventually took a 33-11 halftime lead.
Lakeview turned 13 George Walton turnovers into 12 points in the first half. The defensive assault continued in the third quarter as the Lady Lions forced six more miscues into eight more points as they took a 50-15 lead into the fourth quarter. George Walton finished with 21 turnovers that Lakeview turned into 24 points for the game.
Lakeview girls coach John Carrick said it was the kind of effort he was looking for coming off a solid Lanierland Tournament showing.
“We’re in region play now and I feel like we have played a tougher non-region schedule than we’ll see in the region so we came out and did what I was expecting us to do,” Carrick said. “We played well defensively and got a lot of girls into the game to give them some court time.”
Nine different players scored for the Lady Lions, paced by junior Eliza Snyder, who poured in 18 points to go with 4 rebounds and 4 steals. Allen finished with 11 points and 6 steals and Maddy Towles chipped in 9 for Lakeview.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2019/1/750175/basketball-lakeview-opens-8-a-play-with-a-sweep-of-george-walton