Daniel too much for Lake City

Daniel too much for Lake City (Added: March 07, 2010)

COLUMBIA ? The fourth-quarter magic that was prevalent throughout region play and the postseason for Lake City ran out at the worst possible time. The Panthers managed only four points in the fin ... (more)

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Lake City High School players let their emotions show after they lost the boys Class 3A State basketball Championship at the Colonial Life Center in Columbia as The Daniel Lions defeated the Lake City Panthers 59-42 on Saturday, March 6, 2010.

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Published: March 07, 2010

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COLUMBIA — The fourth-quarter magic that was prevalent throughout region play and the postseason for Lake City ran out at the worst possible time.

The Panthers managed only four points in the final frame and never overcame a first-quarter deficit as Daniel defeated Lake City 59-42 on Saturday at Colonial Life Arena for the Class 3A boys state championship.

“We were shooting poorly, but I still felt pretty good at the half,” Lake City coach Willie Thomas said. “We had our chances, even in the fourth quarter, but we weren’t able to capitalize on anything. When you’re in a state championship, you have to be able to capitalize on turnovers, and we were not able to do that.”

Lake City never led, but despite poor shooting in the first quarter, the Panthers hung around and trailed only 46-40 early in the fourth quarter.

But the Panthers went nearly six minutes without a basket, and did not manage to take advantage of a three-minute span by the Lions that featured four missed shots, including a dunk, and two turnovers.

“We just didn’t have it tonight,” Thomas said. “We weren’t able to make even a couple of wide open layups in the fourth quarter. We needed our big players, especially our post players, to step up and they just couldn’t get it done.”

The Panthers also didn’t do themselves any favors at the free-throw line, going 4-of-8. By contrast, Daniel was 17-of-22.

“That was one of the reasons we weren’t able to close the gap any further than we did,” Thomas said. “We gave them too many opportunities for easy baskets.”

The Panthers also had to deal with a well-balanced Daniel attack. Three Daniel players finished in double figures.

“We knew they had a couple of athletic scorers, but we didn’t know they had about five or six who could really drive the basket and do some damage,” Thomas said.
“We probably should have changed some things defensively at halftime, but that’s how it goes.”

The Panthers stayed in the game early, thanks to 3-pointers from Martin Cooper, Bryce Thomas and De’Charles Burgess.