Gallery and Recap: Boys’ Basketball vs. SM North

After multiple lead changes and a battle in the post, the SM East basketball team extended their record to 5-1 with a 62-56 victory over the SM North Indians.

The Indians were able to get an early lead by dominating the post game and capitalizing on East turnovers. Leading the charge was SM North post Scott Johnson, who overpowered SM East junior Lucas Jones in the first quarter. Despite his four inch height advantage, Jones struggled early on in his matchup against Johnson, who repeatedly scored by shooting over Jones.

After a quiet first quarter, Jones became a force on the offensive side of the game. Despite missing two of his three dunks, he would finish the game with 23 points. By attacking the basket on the interior of the court, Jones was able to get the smaller SM North squad into foul trouble and flatten out the Indians’ defense.

With the attention drawn to Jones in the post, the SM East squad was able to pull ahead by spreading their offense to use players such as sophomore Jay Guastello, junior Gunnar Englund and senior Luke Haverty. Sophomore Joey Wentz was a force earlier in the game, but after a hard fall in the second quarter he was removed from the court for a concussion test and did not return to the game.

Johnson continued to lead SM North’s scoring, finishing with 26 points, but was unable to buoy the team on his own. Meanwhile, three point shooting from guards such as Englund, Haverty and senior Colin Burns kept East in the lead.

As the final minutes of game time ticked away, SM North resorted to fouling in an attempt to buy themselves time on offense. Solid free throw shooting by the Lancers and several forced turnovers brought the final score to be 62-56, with the Lancers walking away with their fifth win of the season.