Lakewood Ranch hangs tough with No. 1-ranked Memphis East

The slew of shots bricked the rim inside Florida Southwestern State College’s Suncoast Credit Union Arena.

There were several turnovers, too.

That’s how the first 21 possessions and opening quarter went for the Lakewood Ranch boys basketball team in Tuesday’s Culligan’s City of Palms Classic first-round tournament game against the nation’s No. 1-ranked team, Memphis East.

The slow start added up to a 12-point deficit and an unenviable uphill climb.

“That first quarter beats you, but the reality is they were good enough that we battled the entire time,” Lakewood Ranch head coach Jeremy Schiller said.

Unbeaten Memphis East, also known as the Mustangs, dropped Lakewood Ranch 76-58 to advance to Thursday’s quarterfinal. Though Lakewood Ranch (5-1) held its own for the final three quarters.

“Our guys learned they can play with the best in the country,” Schiller said. “So by doing that, you start to grow and you say, ‘OK, when we’re up for that challenge, hopefully fighting for it in February and March, we’re going to be ready because we’ve already done that.’ ”

Tennessee’s reigning two-time Mr. Basketball, Alex Lomax, said they didn’t play the East High way, which is playing up 94 feet, playing defense, giving 100 percent effort and being unselfish on the offensive end.

Head coach Penny Hardaway, who played for the Orlando Magic, said his team played horrible.

“We were selfish (Tuesday),” Hardaway said. “They looked down on Lakewood, and I tell them never to do that. It just seemed they tried to play around like at any moment we’re going to beat them by 20. And we don’t like that at all, and we don’t appreciate that, because you give every team respect.”

Lakewood Ranch’s returning core from last year’s state semifinal team — seniors Damien Gordon, Evan Spiller and Jack Kelley — combined to score 37 of the Mustangs’ 58 points.

Kelley, though, was one of several Lakewood Ranch players who drove against East’s athletic big men in the paint.

“Playing against 6-(foot)-11 super athletic, it’s like you’ve got to hold your ground or else he’s just going to eat you all day and that’s how it was,” Kelley said.

Joshua Young, who transferred from Collierville High outside of Memphis before the season, was tasked with guarding East’s James Wiseman, who stands 7 feet tall and scored a game-high 20 points.

“He was obviously good,” Young said. “He can finish. He can rebound. But just getting my head around the fact that I can guard him if I just give my all and be physical.”

After the slow start, Lakewood Ranch picked up some slight momentum that led to its cheering section to shout, “Overrated,” about East.

That only fueled the No. 1-ranked team to give itself some breathing room.

Lakewood Ranch, though, clawed back later in the second half and closed the deficit to 11 points with roughly 3 minutes remaining. Consequently, Hardaway reinserted a few players, including Wiseman, to salt the game away.

Lakewood Ranch’s next City of Palms tournament game is scheduled for noon Thursday against Orlando Christian Prep in the consolation bracket.

This story was originally published December 19, 2017 at 8:52 PM with the headline "Lakewood Ranch hangs tough with No. 1-ranked Memphis East."