Blazers fall short
of New York tourney
By Jeremy Howard
Staff Writer
Basketball team faces off against Richland
for MAC title and loses Although the
North Lake Blazers’ season came to an end
March 4 when the team lost to the Richland Thunderducks
in the Metro Athletic Conference Tournament, the
Blazers’ final record of 19-11 is impressive.
If nothing else, finishing eight games above
.500 should make North Lake basketball fans, players
and coaches feel proud.
“I’m very proud of our players. We
overcame a lot this season, including an injury
to our key rebounder earlier this season, to get
to the championship game,” said Tim McGraw,
North Lake’s head coach.
North Lake tied with Richland for the second
year in a row for the regular-season championship,
and a winning coin toss gave the Blazers the advantage
of hosting the MAC Tournament in Neil Johnston
Gym.
North Lake’s first game in the MAC Tournament
was against the Cedar Valley Suns on March 3,
which they won 72-65. The Suns opened the game
with quick 3-point scoring, which proved North
Lake’s zone defense to be ineffective at
times. Both teams exchanged leads many times throughout
the first 12 minutes of the game.
When the Blazers took a 22-21 lead with 7:28
to go in the first half, the Suns then scored
five consecutive points. With 5:37 left in the
half, North Lake called a time-out. It was then
that starting guard Kenneth Cage, No. 11 for the
Blazers, took over the game.
For the remainder of the half, North Lake’s
defense cooled off the Suns’ 3-point and
lane-penetrating attempts. During that session,
Cage iced the Suns’ defense by scoring North
Lake’s next 13 points. By the time the Suns
heated up again, the Blazers had gone on a 13-2
run and held the Suns scoreless for three minutes.
Cage made man-to-man layups, had fast break points
from steals, and even spun away from an opponent
shortly before making a jumper. That jumper sent
the crowd into a controlled-riot as Cage trotted
down the court with his arm raised in shooting
form. North Lake ended the half with a 37-33 lead.
North Lake led the rest of the way, playing with
leads as small as one point, but never extending
it past five, until the end. Kevin Amend, the
Blazers’ center/forward, upped his game
in the second half with impressive inside shooting
and solid defense backed by blocked shots. Preston
McCarter, a 6-foot guard, used his speed relentlessly
on defense, helping the Blazers slow down the
Suns.
The hard-fought win against the Suns gave North
Lake momentum. However, it wasn’t enough
to shoot down the Richland Thunderducks. Richland
beat North Lake 87-71 on March 4, the following
day of the MAC Tournament.
It was a game that North Lake had been waiting
for and knew confidently that they would face
off against Richland for the MAC Tournament championship,
said McGraw.
Cage, the Blazers’ leading scorer throughout
the tournament with 22 points per game, had a
game high of 26 points. Cage made numerous attempts
to keep North Lake in the game. At one point,
Cage beat a defender off the dribble so badly
that the opponent remained motionless as Cage
dashed by for a layup.
North Lake’s Michael Smith scored the Blazers’
next six points which ended up giving the team
a 20-19 lead with 8:07 left in the half. One of
those field goals included a powerful dunk. After
tying Richland 22-22, North Lake then watched
as the Thunderducks sped the game up to a level
the Blazers couldn’t match.
Smith injured his ankle on a play at the opening
of the second half after blocking a shot. Throughout
the season he was the Blazers’ leading rebounder,
shot-blocker and, at times, its leading scorer.
Smith did not return to the game, and as a result,
North Lake had trouble adjusting to Richland’s
multiple offensive weapons. Smith finished with
10 points and five rebounds.
“When Michael Smith went down, that sealed
our doom,” McGraw said.
Although the Blazers fell short of reaching Delhi,
N.Y., the site of the National Junior College
Athletic Association Division III Tournament,
the team has good news ahead.
“My best news is that I have eight players
from this team who were freshmen and will be returning,”
McGraw said via e-mail.
Next season, look for North Lake to fight for
a third consecutive regular season championship.
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