District 2 Boys Game Recap (Lakeland vs. Mid Valley)
Written by: Jon K on January 24, 2020
January 24, 2020
Lakeland Comeback Defeats Mid Valley
Lakeland Chiefs 43, Mid Valley Spartans 38
By Phil T.
THROOP – Inside a loud, packed gym at Mid Valley High School it was the Chiefs who would prevail in a tightly contested game, 43-38.
The Spartans would jump out to an early 7-2 lead and maintain the advantage until halftime. In the first half, Mid Valley had the hot hand, hitting five triples, but the Spartans seemed to lose their touch in the second half as their shots stopped falling.
In the closing minutes of the game with Mid Valley trailing by two, a technical foul was called on Lakeland bringing Danny Nemitz to the foul line with a chance to tie the game – he would convert 1 of 2 and cut the lead to a single point. The Spartans would find themselves with another opportunity, down by 3 with 34.2 ticks left on the clock. However, they would turn the ball over before getting a shot off.
Led by Caleb Vigil, with a game-high 19 points, Lakeland made smart plays and played a stout defense on their way to the win. As a team, the Chiefs would hit 13 of 14 at the foul line.
Mid Valley struggled in the second half, only scoring 11 points after the break.
Chris Mellon would score 16 points for the Chiefs in the victory. Nemitz and Tyler O’Connor would each contribute 10 points for the Spartans. They combined for only six points in the 2nd half.
Lakeland now has a half-game Lackawanna League Division 3 lead over Holy Cross, who played a Division 4 crossover game tonight which does not count in the standings. The Chiefs travel to play at Holy Cross later this month.
Mike Miller doubles the Trojans lead with a 3. (2nd Qtr) pic.twitter.com/bEKkUSn1Sl
— LLHoops NEP Beat_Phil (@Phil_LLHoopsNEP) January 25, 2020
Caleb Vigil’s 3 pulls the Chiefs to within 2. (2nd Qtr) pic.twitter.com/t4ltKYUjvM
— LLHoops NEP Beat_Phil (@Phil_LLHoopsNEP) January 25, 2020
Caleb Vigil sinks both FTs to put Lakeland up by 3. (4th Qtr) Turn the sound on 🔊 and see how the loud the gym got. The atmosphere was one of the best I’ve see around here. https://t.co/6zWd7z9xc7 pic.twitter.com/I4PTq5WhUu
— LLHoops NEP Beat_Phil (@Phil_LLHoopsNEP) January 25, 2020
Follow LLhoops on Twitter @LLhoops