Lakeland boys "run" past Oviedo

High energy from the Dreadnaughts produces an 18-point victory

LAKELAND, FLORIDA – The Lakeland Dreadnaughts held serve on their home court by knocking off the visiting Oviedo Lions, 73-55, in a high-energy contest Thursday night.

It was a game with the Dreadnaughts playing a pressure-packed full-court press to keep the Lions under duress. Early on, however, Oviedo handled the pressure well by moving the basketball and finding their best offensive weapon, Ryan Blount, for the opening score of the contest, a 3-point basket from the right wing.

Blount finished the evening with 21 points, but he truly had to work for his shots as Lakeland’s defenders keyed on the talented 6-foot-5 junior.

Throughout the entire first quarter, Oviedo was up to the challenge of playing with poise and running their offense even when Blount was not open for a shot. The scoring between the two teams was back-and-forth, and Oviedo led Lakeland 17-14 after one stanza of play.

The second quarter brought about change. Lakeland’s unselfish passing – the overall difference in the game – created wide open shots at the bucket. Plus, the pressure defense started to create havoc.

Dairden Zipperer was a major part of Lakeland's defensive effort in its win over Oviedo and he shared team-high scoring honors with Derajah Hardy, netting 12 points / Photo by Brian Smith

Oviedo point guard Hunter Havercamp was challenged from one endline to the other, and Lakeland’s superior athleticism created deflections and steals as the second quarter went past the midway point. On the other end of the court, the sheer athletic talent opened up even more passing lanes for the Dreadnaughts, too.

Lakeland guard Kamaurri McKinley, plus fellow guards Derajah Hardy and Rolijah Hardy, were penetrating into the paint and dishing off for buckets to teammates. When the Dreadnaughts missed a shot, they were usually the aggressors for rebounds and loose balls.

Even though Lakeland guard Javares Burton suffered a minor injury that caused him to miss part of the game, he was also in the middle of the scrum for many loose balls that led to extra Lakeland possessions.

He played in the middle of the 2-3 zone for Lakeland, and distributed several passes to teammates after catching a pass and seeing Oviedo’s defense collapse on him. The result was open shots inside of three feet for his teammates.

By halftime, Lakeland held a 34-29 advantage, and the depth of the Dreadnaughts was already showing. The Oviedo offense did not find a way for Blount to score a single point in the second quarter, and he only had one basket later on in the first quarter after his opening 3-point connection. Lakeland’s defense was suffocating.

The third quarter saw the most frantic action of the evening.

Live-ball turnovers by Oviedo opened up the court for Lakeland’s speed; reserve guard Shanard Clower scored four baskets in the quarter. None of the baskets were more important than the one that came after fellow reserve guard Daidren Zipperer scored one of his four buckets on the evening for a total of eight points

After Zipperer’s score, Clower stole the inbounds pass and immediately laid in an uncontested shot for two more points.

That’s when Lakeland’s lead went to double digits and the home crowd went into a frenzy. That moment led to a manic atmosphere and the Lakeland defense lived off of it.

In the third quarter alone, Clower scored eight of his total of nine points off the bench. Lakeland’s overall depth showed and it directly impacted the scoreboard. They were out running Oviedo to the basket and getting easier looks for scores, and the defensive pressure added even more inside shots.

Oviedo's Ryan Blount scored a game-high 21 points despite constant attention of the Lakeland defense / Photo by Brian Smith

Even with Blount getting back into the scoring by often going one-on-one and scoring 10 points in the third quarter, Lakeland’s lead ballooned to 59-41 heading into the final stanza.

The lead was 62-42 with 7:24 to go in the fourth quarter before Ovideo made a late rally, but it was too little and too late.

The Dreadnaughts went back on the offensive, and finally guard Kale Elmhorst was getting open looks of his own. The 6-foot-5 wing player knocked down a key 3-point shot from the left wing that helped fend off the Lions after they had decreased the lead to 10 points.

That bucket was important as Blount had found a rhythm, and fellow Oviedo junior guard Alex Harper scored multiple baskets during that time frame from his total of 18 for the evening.

A couple of Lakeland baskets made it 66-52 with 4:16 remaining, and then it was balanced scoring for both teams, as Lakeland also led 68-55 with 2:08 to play and the subsequent fouling by Oviedo began to stop the clock.

Lakeland finished off Oviedo with some free throws and were simply the better squad on Thursday evening. The leading scorers for Lakeland were Zipperer and Derajah Hardy with 12 points each, Clower had his nine points, and Rolijah Hardy and McKinley each had seven points.

Havercamp was the third leading scorer for Oviedo with 10 points. In sum, Blount, Harper, and Havercamp scored 49 of Oviedo’s 55 points.

Next up for No. 2 seed Lakeland will be a home contest next Tuesday against the No. 3 seed, Orlando Edgewater. It knocked off Lake Minneola 87-69 to advance as well.