Lakota East Gets Ahead, Never Looks Back in 52-36 Victory Against Middletown
In Game 3 of Monday’s Inaugural Kemba Credit Union MLK Classic action, Lakota East never trailed as the Thunderhawks defeated Middletown handily by a score of 52-36.
Lakota East started the game with the momentum, going on a 7-2 scoring run with 5:34 remaining courtesy of buckets by Ashton Washburn, Brady Bowman, and Luke Shaw. Middletown didn’t take long to retaliate, however, and the Middies’ senior forward Mario Rose tacked on seven points of his own to pull his team back to within three at 12-9 entering the second quarter.
The second quarter was all Thunderhawks. Middletown did not get on the board in the frame until the 0:27 mark, when a Landen Finch layup ended a 13-0 Lakota East scoring run. After the Middies could not get a layup off before time expired, the teams entered the locker room with the Thunderhawks on top, 25-11. 12 of Lakota East’s 13 quarter points came from behind the arc.
Both teams lit up the scoreboard in the third, but neither gained any momentum. Lakota East hit two threes to extend the lead to 20 at 31-11 less than two minutes in the quarter, but the Middies responded by going on a 7-0 run in the waning minutes to pull the team back to within 14 at 38-24 entering the fourth frame.
After a quick Middletown bucket, Lakota East dominated the fourth quarter, going on a 12-2 scoring run with 2:02 to go. The run included seven points from Brady Bowman. Middletown finally mustered some offense in the closing minutes, assembling an 8-0 run highlighted by four points a piece from Keith Daniels and Isaiah Houston. Ultimately, the Thunderhawks closed out a decisive 52-36 victory over their conference rivals at the Cintas Center.
Junior Cale Curtis and senior Landen Finch led the Middies offensively, with each racking up eight points. Brady Bowman posted 12 points for Lakota East.
Looking ahead, Middletown (1-8, 1-8 GMC) challenges Hamilton on the road in Greater Miami Conference play on Friday, January 23. Meanwhile, Lakota East (9-5, 5-4 GMC) will take a two-game win streak into Colerain as they battle the GMC-rival Cardinals on Friday, January 23.
