Panthers boys beat Myrtle Beach; girls split games

The last time the Lake City varsity boys’ basketball team played Myrtle Beach, the Panthers had to overcome a 19-point halftime deficit to win in overtime. The second game between the two teams Friday night nearly followed the same script, except the roles were reversed.

Lake City held a 15-point lead at the half and seemed to be on the way to an easy Region VII-3A win, but the Seahawks chipped away at the Panthers’ lead throughout the final period. Lake City’s lead was cut to five points with just more than1:30 left, but the Panthers built the lead back to seven with 43 seconds remaining when Desmond Haygood hit two free throws to give Lake City a 59-52 lead.

Myrtle Beach scored on a three-pointer with 30 seconds left to get to within four points of the lead. Jeremi McCrea then hit the front end of a one-and-one to increase the lead to five. Myrtle Beach connected on another three-point shot with 17 seconds left to cut Lake City’s lead to 60-58. Haygood then put the game on ice when he connected on two free throws, giving Lake City the 62-58 win.

“We’ve got to learn how to close out games at the end,” Lake City head coach Willie Thomas said after the game. “We didn’t do a very good job of protecting the lead we had. Our younger kids were playing better than our veterans.“

McCrea led all Panthers scorers with 17 points, while Dashawn Butler scored 10. Corey Baker and Willis Flowers each scored eight points, and Bryce Thomas added seven.

With the win over Myrtle Beach, Lake City held on to the lead in Region VII-3A with a 6-0 record in region play and 14-7 overall. The Panthers will travel to Socastee this Friday night for another region matchup.

The Lake City varsity girls’ basketball team split a pair of Region VII-3A games last week, winning 59-32 over St. James and falling to Myrtle Beach 62-36 Friday.

Against the Lady Sharks, Lake City’s defense held St. James to only nine first-half points. Alisha Graham scored a game-high 25 points, and Shanice Cooper scored 16.

On Friday, the Lady Panthers offense was held to only nine first-half points. Graham again led Lake City scorers with 13 and Cooper added 10.

Despite Friday’s loss, Lake City remains in second place with a 4-2 region record and 7-12 overall record. The Lady Panthers will travel to Socastee on Friday night.