South Lakes Falls To District-Leading Westfield But Creates A Path To Future Successes

By BRIAN McNICOLL

On the surface there may not have been much for South Lakes High basketball fans to get excited about on Friday night.

The Seahawks lost to Westfield, 75-54, to fall to 2-3 at the halfway mark of the Concorde District schedule. Westfield, now 17-1 and 5-0 in the district, did what good teams – they took control late in the first half then pulled away after halftime to win their 16th straight game.

Malachi Lee, who terrorized the South Lakes football team with two interceptions and two touchdowns, similarly dominated in basketball with 22 points on 10-of-14 shooting to go with eight rebounds and five assists.

Colin Stemberger, the Bulldogs’ pesky guard, added 17, and Will Robinson, their 6-6 center, contributed 12 and four blocks.

South Lakes’ youth movement lineup included two seniors – Machai Ramos, who scored 20 points to lead the Seahawks, and Brady Theis, who added six before he fouled out in the game’s final moments.

But this was no dreary beatdown of a two-time defending state champion trying to find its way while Jordan Scott, its leading man the last two years, stars at Michigan State.

This was the Seahawks' second game since Coach Mike Desmond declared a youth movement would begin as the team attempts to stay competitive this year but starts to look ahead to next season. In the first, they defeated Chantilly, 71-55. On Friday, they dropped a tough decision to the league’s best team.

“I loved the fight,” Desmond said of Friday night’s effort. “I don’t like to lose, but I love the way they fought. I look up and it’s a 20-point game, and it did not feel like a 20-point game at all."

Indeed, it wasn’t a 20-point game until the end when Westfield scored the game's final 10 points. The Bulldogs led by just five at the half and by seven with 2:20 left in the third quarter.

The Seahawks were aggressive on defense. They raced at Westfield ballhandlers and forced bad decisions on numerous occasions, leading to multiple steals for both Theis and Joshua Dagby. Even in the halfcourt, the Seahawk defense was sticky and aggressive and kept the Bulldogs, who beat South Lakes with Jordan Scott last year for the Concorde District championship, from getting into a groove.

Desmond said the team has had a habit this year of carrying out the game plan, having success with it, then inexplicably going away from it. But on Friday, in a 21–point loss, “They did more of what we wanted for longer than any game this season,” Desmond said.

They also scored the entire game, which had been a problem. The Seahawks scored within the first two minutes of every quarter but the first, never went even three minutes without a basket and shot 9-for-20 from the field in the second half..

The players seemed to like the more frenetic style. “It’s more who we are,” said Jayden Edwards, the 6-5 junior who moved into the starting lineup as part of the youth movement. “We’re coming together. We have a new mentality … we’re going to make you work for it. I think we did that tonight.”

The intensity seemed to get under the skin of the Bulldogs through the night. Each team was called for a technical foul – although South Lakes’s was for delay of game. And Westfield received two other personal fouls that resulted from near dust-ups with Seahawk defenders.

Edwards drew the Westfield technical after being called for a foul himself. Edwards fouled Westfield’s Jemon Price, then, as the two made their way to the line, Price continued to talk and Edwards continued to clap until Price crossed the line and earned two free throws for the Seahawks, which Ramos converted.

“I just kept clapping, and it got in his head,” Edwards said later.

“Of course it was chippy,” said Desmond. “We have something they want. They want to be like us. But we’ll see. We spotted some flaws in what they do. Hopefully we can take advantage next time.”