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Preps

Big free throws lift Lecanto

LECANTO -- Swish.

That was the sound Lecanto heard Thursday when it needed it most in a 58-56 win against Dunnellon.

With two minutes to play, Landon Baize hit a clutch 3-pointer that put the Panthers up 56-54. The Tigers responded with a bucket of their own but then fouled Lecanto's Drew Zimbro on the other end.

Zimbro sank both free throws to give the Panthers the lead for good as Dunnellon misfired.

"I thought there was still a lot left to play, but I was glad I was able to knock them down," Zimbro said. "This is big. We just got out of a losing streak and need to get over the hump. I feel like we're doing a good job coming back and playing well as a team."

After a three-game losing streak, Lecanto (4-6) has won two in a row.

Zimbro scored a team-high 16 points, including four 3-pointers, a putback dunk and the free throws.

"If I'm open, I take it," Zimbro said of his outside shooting. "Sometimes it goes in, sometimes it don't. That's a gamble I'm willing to take."

Baize scored eight of his 12 points in the fourth quarter, prompting Lecanto coach Chris Nichols to call him the player of the game.

"He really stepped up at the end," Nichols said. "He hit a 3 at the top of the key that was big. He made a steal where he touch-passed it over to Bruce Emberley for a basket and he hit the three free throws."

Lecanto's Emberley added nine points and four rebounds, and Jeremy Jensen also had nine points.

Dunnellon (6-5) jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, but five Lecanto substitutions helped the Panthers tie it up 12-12 after one quarter.

The Panthers caught a break to start the second when Tigers star Tei Thomas, averaging 22 points a game, picked up his third foul and went to the bench.

Thomas returned in the second half, scoring 12 of his game-high 17 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter.

"He never was able to get into a rhythm out there," Dunnellon coach Steve Powell said. "He's our leader on the court and we had a lot of guys who were playing that don't normally play. We made a lot of mistakes and Lecanto was able to capitalize."

Marty Allen and Rodney Jones each finished with 10 points for Dunnellon, which overcame an 11-point deficit in the third quarter to make things interesting.

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