by Lisa Hinton-Valdrighi
Christchurch came into last Saturday’s game against Lancaster with only two wins as the obvious underdog to the Conference #43-leading Red Devils, who had 12 wins.
On paper, the game should have been a cake-walk for LHS. Instead, the Seahorses took the Devils the distance and then some, with Lancaster scoring 14 points in overtime for a 67-56 win.
The Devils trailed 43-38 to start the fourth but opened with a 9-2 run and tied the game at 45-45 after three points from Martez Davis with a free throw and ensuing steal and lay-in.
Lancaster took its first lead, 53-51, since the first half with 1:16 remaining after a stick-back by Davis. The two teams traded shots for eight ties in the fourth quarter and were knotted at 53 each with 17 seconds left when the Devils worked the ball around and James Coleman put up a long three that missed the rim at the buzzer.
But the Devils pulled away early in the four-minute overtime with an 11-0 run to start that lifted LHS, 64-53. The Seahorses finally hit in the extra period with 36 seconds left.
Davis sank five free throws in overtime and hit 8-of-12 in the final 12 minutes of play after missing all four of his shots from the charity line in the first half. He finished with 16 points to lead 11 scorers for LHS. Calvin Henderson added nine on the night and Jahmil Redmond eight.
The Devils, who struggled with foul shooting last year, have turned that around this season and helped themselves at the line last Saturday night, sinking 28-of-40 or 70 percent.
The Seahorses were led by Conner Gordon with 16 points.
Lancaster also picked up conference wins over Northumberland and Rappahannock last week to improve to 13-3 overall. The Devils had one regular season game remaining against Essex Tuesday night. The game would determine the first place seed before conference tournament play begins next week.
Lancaster 66
Northumberland 45
Four Devils finished in double figures last Wednesday when Lancaster ran away with a 66-45 win over Northumberland.
Lancaster put the game out of reach early after taking a seven-point lead in the first quarter then outrunning the Indians, 24-4 in the second quarter for a 44-17 lead at the half.
RayQuawn Ball, who led all scorers with 21 points, was the only Indian to score in the second quarter, hitting two field goals. Ball did most of the work for NHS in the third, scoring nine of his team’s 11 points, including six off three pointers. He hit two more threes in the fourth and had eight of the Indians’ 17 in the final eight minutes.
Lancaster got a balanced effort with Davis pacing four double digit scorers. Davis had 12 points in the first half and finished with 13. Darius Reed scored 11 and Coleman and Dwayne Ball had 10 each.
Lancaster 59
Rappahannock 45
Lancaster opened and ended strong last Friday in a 59-45 win over Rappahannock.
The Devils took a 14-6 lead in the first eight minutes before allowing the host Raiders to make up four of those points with a 15-11 run in the second.
Jay Dillon drilled a pair of three-pointers for six of Lancaster’s 14 in the first and sank another two threes in the fourth to finish with 16 points and lead all scorers.
Tre’Monie Brown hit twice from the cheap seats for Rappahannock in the second quarter, leading the hosts on a 15-11 run that left the Raiders trailing by only four at the half. RHS outscored Lancaster by another five in the third to take a one-point lead, 41-40, into the fourth quarter when the Devils got eight points from Dillon and four points from Coleman when they outran the Raiders, 19-4, to regain the lead and cruise to a 14-point win. Rappahannock was held to a field goal and two free throws in the final eight minutes.
Davis finished with 12 points and Coleman nine.
Savion Epps scored 12 points to lead the Raiders. Warren Carter and James Goulding-Wales chipped in 10 each.