McHENRY — After falling to Link Academy 63-59 on Thursday, the La Lumiere Lakers (Indiana) bounced back with a 66-58 overtime win over the Tennessee Collegiate Spartans on Friday at the Western Maryland Classic at Garrett College.
The Lakers (15-3) are No. 13 on the ESPN top 25 national rankings.
“Anytime you get a win in this league, you gotta celebrate,” La Lumiere head coach Pat Holmes said. “They made it difficult for us, changed their defense, being in a 2-3, being able to get active. It kinda takes you out of your rhythm, takes you out of the pace you wanna play with. But I was proud with how our guys battled to the end.”
After two of the four quarters, the margin was one point, with the other two being a three-point advantage and a tied score.
The fourth quarter featured seven lead changes with neither side up by more than five.
With 1:01 to play, D’Nharayane Vital threw down a dunk to put the Spartans (10-9) ahead 53-52.
Tennessee Collegiate committed a turnover on an inbound, setting up Nate Miles who split a pair of free throws at the line to put the Spartans in front 54-52.
Miles led the Spartans with 24 points and six rebounds.
With 7.5 on the clock, Louisville commit Ferlandes Wright hit a layup for the Lakers to send the game into overtime.
“One of our coaches, Chris Conrad had it in his back pocket,” Holmes said. “We talked about it today, it’s a fake handoff with Ferlandes and Devin (Cleveland) clear over the top. Their big helped a little bit, Ferlandes did a great fake handoff, got downhill.”
Wright only scored five points, but grabbed eight rebounds including five offensive boards, adding four assists and a block.
La Lumiere took the lead for good with 3:02 to play on a 3-pointer from Cleveland, who scored 19 of his 24 points after halftime with three rebounds and an assist.
Cleveland is a four-star prospect in the Class of 2027 who holds offers from Arkansas, Michigan, Marquette and Arizona State among others.
“Just being aggressive,” Cleveland said of what changed in the second half. “Looking for my teammates first so the lane can open up for me so I can just get to the basket.”
It was the start of a 10-2 Lakers run to push La Lumiere’s lead to 64-56 with 22.2 to play.
The Lakers outscored the Spartans 12-4 in overtime, holding Tennessee Collegiate to 2 of 8 from the field and 0 for 5 from deep.
“Keying in on defense, stopping them from getting to the basket so easy,” Cleveland said of the biggest factor after halftime. “Controlling the basketball, ended up with two turnovers the whole half, that was a big thing for us.”
Western Kentucky commit Gabe Weis scored eight of his 10 points after halftime, adding three boards for the Lakers.
The third quarter saw two lead changes and a tie with neither side leading by more than five.
Mason Williams knocked down a triple with 15 seconds remaining in the third to put the Spartans up, then Wright immediately answered on a tip-in to put La Lumiere in front 37-36 after three.
Williams finished with 17 points, two rebounds and a steal.
He’s the son of Mo Williams, the head coach of Jackson State and a 2016 NBA champion with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“You gotta stop Williams, he (averages) 16, five and five in our league,” Holmes said. “We just had to be solid on him, make life difficult for him. Everything’s gotta be contested. He’s always gonna find a way to score double digits, he’s just a talented player like that. But make life difficult for him and keep those guys off the glass.”
The second quarter saw five lead changes and two ties.
With 1:04 before halftime, Purdue commit Jacob Webber buried a triple that put the Lakers ahead 24-21 at the break.
Tennessee Collegiate led 12-11 after one, holding La Lumiere to 4 of 14 (28%) from the field as the Lakers scored nine of 11 points from deep.
Notre Dame commit Jon Sanderson scored eight of La Lumiere’s 11 points in the first and finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
“That’s how we’ve played all year,” Holmes said of the emphasis on outside shooting. “We lead the league in 3-point makes per game, I wish our percentage was a little bit higher. But we make 10 a game, we have the shooters, we brought those guys in. We wanna play with that space, and you’re gonna get hot, sometimes you’re gonna get a little cold.”
In the first half, the Lakers shot 9 of 25 (36%) from the field and 5 of 13 (38%) from deep.
The Spartans shot 8 of 24 (33%) from the field and missed all seven triples.
La Lumiere is a frequent visitor to Western Maryland, playing in the 2023 Western Maryland Classic along with the 2021 and 2022 Bob Kirk Invitational Showcase held at Allegany College.
“To be able to put an event on for the people of Western Maryland, it’s a community that works hard,” Holmes said. “They love sports, they love their Mountaineers. To have this in their backyard for the kids, and all the proceeds go to the local community, that’s what it’s all about.”