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© St. Petersburg Times, published January 15, 2003
ST. PETERSBURG -- Lakewood came into Tuesday's game against Northeast with something it has not had in a long time -- a losing streak.
The Spartans almost left the gym with it, too. But in holding off Northeast in a 51-39 win, the reeling Spartans got back on the winning track and might have steadied themselves for the time being.
"We needed a game like this tonight," Lakewood coach Dan Wright said.
And the Spartans (13-4) needed a win.
Coming off two straight losses at a weekend tournament in Jacksonville -- they lost twice last season in winning a state title -- the Spartans did not look good offensively without leader and starting point guard Maurice Robinson, declared academically ineligible and now at Dixie Hollins.
"That's why we're struggling, no ifs, ands or buts about it," said Wright, whose team scored 29 of its points in two big runs. "We're struggling right now. We're having a hard time scoring points."
The Spartans fell behind 5-0 but responded with 17 straight points midway through the first quarter. Coryon Ross had three layups in the run and Sean Morrison added seven.
But then Lakewood suffered through a spate of turnovers, missed layups and open jumpers, and saw their lead shrink to 37-36 heading into the fourth quarter.
An ill-advised 3-point attempt by the Vikings missed badly, and Lakewood's Morrison answered with his own made attempt to key a 12-0 run to start the period. Morrison and center Brian Ligon combined to score all 12 points in the run. Morrison finished with a game-high 18, and Ligon had 12.
The shorthanded Vikings (3-12) made one shot of the 10 they took in the fourth. Northeast dressed only nine players due to injuries to key post players. Marcus Lawson is in the hospital with breathing-related problems, Josh Harris will be out three more weeks with a broken hand and Anthony Dorsey was taken to the hospital after a collision with Ligon possibly gave the senior a concussion.
"We got a bit of a patched-up lineup right now," Northeast coach Dave Redding said. "But I thought the guys played hard tonight."
Bojan Nedic led Northeast with 13 points, all in the second half, and Deontre Poole had 11.