Throw out records – even if both teams entered the contest with one combined win between them – or anything else high school basketball players use to find motivation. Whenever Lafayette and Jamestown meet in boys basketball, it always brings out the best of both sides.
Friday’s showdown was no exception.
In a game that featured 19 lead changes, was tied eight times and saw neither side lead by more than six points during regulation, Lafayette rallied to tie the game in the final seconds and force overtime before pulling away for a 70-60 victory on the Rams’ home court.
Late in the fourth quarter it appeared that Jamestown, which led for nearly all of the final eight minutes, was going steal a narrow two-point victory on Lafayette’s home floor for the second year in a row.
Lafayette point guard Dequan Harris had other plans.
With roughly 10 seconds left on the clock and Jamestown clinging to a 56-54 lead, the Eagles had possession and only needed to inbounds the ball, which would draw an immediate foul from Lafayette.
Instead, Harris stepped in front of the pass and tip-toed the baseline to come up with the steal before slashing to the hoop for the game-tying layup with five ticks left on the clock. The home crowd erupted as Harris was also fouled on the play, and although he missed the potential game-winning free throw, the Rams had stolen all the momentum and outscored Jamestown 14-4 in the extra period to earn a hard-fought 70-60 victory.
“This is huge,” Lafayette first-year coach Dan Downs said after the game. “That’s our biggest rival; it’s always like this.
“The guys had been talking about this game all week and had a bad taste in their mouth from Wednesday’s (one-point) loss against Tabb – it was a similar situation to this where we had the chance to win it with five seconds left and didn’t – so I think playing in a close game like that was a good experience for tonight.”
Added senior Mark Rivera, who finished with 19 points and eight rebounds, “This is big coming off a couple of tough losses. Last year they beat us by two both times, so it was nice to get back at them.”
The game was back-and-forth from the tip.
Jamestown led most of the opening quarter before Lafayette closed the period with a 5-0 run to take a 17-13 advantage into the second.
That’s when Jamestown forward Trey Neville (30 points, seven rebounds) caught absolute fire.
After an early bucket from Daivon Turner and a pair of free throws from Logan Evans, Neville erupted for 16-consecutive points on 6-7 shooting (3-3 from 3PT range) during the final five minutes of the period as Jamestown regained a 33-29 lead at halftime.
The second half began sloppy as both teams turned the ball over on their first two possessions.
Jamestown would go ahead by four points as Neville and Connor Swain gave the Eagles a nice inside presence, but Lafayette’s C.J. Miller, who finished with a game-high 22 points, aggressively attacked the basket to score 10 points in the third quarter as the Rams battled back to take a 45-43 lead after Rivera closed the quarter with back-to-back layups.
The fourth quarter started great for Jamestown as the Eagles opened the period with a 7-0 run thanks two quick buckets from Mike Schmidt and a 3-pointer from sophomore point guard Chris Lansford.
With Jamestown leading 50-45, Jason Adderty came off the bench to hit a big 3 for Lafayette and bring the Rams within two, 50-48.
The Eagles held their poise though as back-to-back buckets down low from Neville gave Jamestown a 54-51 lead with 59 seconds left in regulation.
Evans and Lafayette’s Bryce Losty would each knock down a pair of free throws to make it a 56-53 game.
With 13 seconds left, Rivera connected on 1 of 2 from the stripe to bring the Rams within two, 56-54, and on Jamestown’s ensuing inbounds play out of a timeout, Harris (four points, 10 assists) gave the Rams new life by stealing the pass and converting the game-tying layup.
“He just jumped it,” Jamestown coach Lee Underwood said of Harris’ steal on the final play of regulation. “He switched on his guy and made a great play. We still had a chance in overtime after (Harris) missed the foul shot, but we didn’t show up. We didn’t do a lick in overtime.”
With all the momentum in their favor, Lafayette ran away with the game in overtime outscoring Jamestown 14-4, including a pair of game-sealing steals that were converted into layups at the other end during the final minute.
“We had the momentum and knew it was ours to lose,” Rivera said of the Rams’ mindset heading into overtime. “Hopefully we can get three more wins heading into (winter) break.”
Lafayette 70 Jamestown 60
Lafayette- 17 14 14 11 14 – 70
Jamestown- 13 20 10 13 4 – 60
Lafayette (2-3, 1-3 BRD)- Miller 22, Rivera 19, Gardner 12, Losty 7, Harris 4. Totals 26 12-20; 70.
Jamestown (0-4, 0-4 BRD)- Neville 30, Evans 8, Schmidt 8, Turner 5, Swain 4, Lansford 3, Green 2. Totals 20 7-10; 60.
