The bleachers were full and the fans were loud as the senior boys Lakers were cheered to victory over the Lindsay Thurber Raiders.
Home court advantage was a very real thing for the Lakers as they faced off with the Raiders on Jan. 18.
The two teams were fairly evenly matched from the first minutes of the game. When one team scored the other wasn’t far behind.
Macgregor Manyluk kicked things off for the Lakers with a clean layup early in the first quarter. The Raiders weren’t far behind score; two three-pointers in quick succession left the Lakers momentarily behind.
By the end of the first quarter it was a two-point game with the Lakers just barely ahead of the Raiders 17-15.
The back and forth continued throughout the game. When one scored the other came back with an easy basket of their own.
The boys raced up and down the court switching quickly between offence and defence.
The second quarter was the time of the three-pointer, with both teams working to make it difficult to make up the difference.
By the end of the first half of the game, the Raiders secured a a lead over the home team. The Lakers were behind going into the second half with a score of 40-36.
After half-time, the Lakers came out on fire and ready to take back the lead. In the third quarter the Lakers picked up an impressive 37 points.
Not only did they take back the lead, but the Lakers were able to slow down the Raiders offence, and limited them to only 21 points in the quarter.
The Lakers kept the ball away from Vince Barbuco, No. 8 for the Raiders, who amassed a total of 35 points throughout the course of the game.
With only one quarter left the Lakers were up, 74-61.
Towards the end of the final period the Lakers began to get a little sloppy. Instead of taking their time and using the shock to their advantage, they moved quickly and passed without being aware of their surroundings.
This allowed the Raiders to play catch-up in the final minutes.
After a few time out pep talks, the Lakers slowed it down enough to keep their lead over the Raiders.
As the seconds ticked down on the clock the Lakers won the game by only eight points, 91-83. The crowd roared as the time ran out and the final buzzer sounded.
The Lakers lead scorer was Manyluk who totalled 30 points over the coarse of the game. Following Manyluk was Luke Marshall, No. 5 for the Lakers, who brought in 22 points for his team.
The Lakers have three more home games before the league playoffs at the end of February. The team will next play at home on Feb. 6 against Wetaskiwin.
megan.roth@sylvanlakenews.com
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