Lakewood ousts No. 1 for title

Spartans win at the free-throw line, beating Orlando Jones 60-57.

By JOHN C. COTEY
Published March 13, 2005

Members of the Lakewood High School basketball team celebrate winning the Class 4A Championship Saturday in Lakeland.
State championship photo gallery

LAKELAND - Entering the state basketball playoffs, the question about who was the best team in Class 4A centered around the teams tied at No. 1 in the season's final poll - Jacksonville Raines and Orlando Jones.

At the Lakeland Center on Saturday, the answer was provided.

Neither.

Lakewood proved it was the best team in Class 4A, knocking off Jones 60-57 to capture the school's second state title in four seasons.

Jones coach Jerry Howard said the debate is over.

"All the credit goes to Lakewood," he said. "They deserve to be Class 4A state champions."

Lakewood also won the title in 2002.

For coach Dan Wright, in his 28th season and the all-time wins leader in Pinellas County, it is his second title in six trips to the state tournament.

He joins Gibbs legend Freddie Dyles, whom he played for in high school, and Dixie Hollins' Roy King as two-time state champion coaches.

"I don't get caught up in all that, all the numbers and how many wins," Wright said.

"My evaluation is basically how my guys do."

They did A-plus work when it mattered most Saturday.

The Spartans (30-2) earned their title the same way they earned a spot in the final, by rallying from a fourth-quarter deficit, making clutch free throws down the stretch and watching as their opponent failed to do the same.

Dion Burton and Mario Telfair made key free throws in the fourth quarter, and the Tigers scored just three in the final 3:20 before a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Lakewood made its first eight free throws and was 14-for-18 until a few late meaningless misses; Jones shot 11-for-24, including 3-for-10 in the fourth quarter.

"You could tell it was going to end that way when it came down to free throws," said Burton, who scored 11. "Mario and I, we knew that's what was going to count."

That Lakewood won at the line in both games at state made the victory especially sweet for the Spartans. In 2003, they made 1-of-6 in the last minute of a region final loss to Winter Haven and didn't shoot much better the next year in a loss to Bradenton Southeast.

Jones (25-5) lacked the Spartans' cool in the game's waning moments.

Howard, whose team also lost the state final in 2003, said he told them twice when down by four to relax and get a good shot, but both times they hurried 3-pointers.

Though the Spartans were beaten on the offensive boards (21-13), Telfair, Ed Nixon and Michael Buckins each pulled down misses in the final 30 seconds to keep the Tigers in check.

Jones' last lead was 49-48 with five minutes left before Telfair scored inside to put the Spartans ahead for good. Forward Louis Murphy scored a few seconds later to make it 52-49.

Jones center Jarvis Williams, who had a game-high 19 points, scored on a putback, but with 3:11 left missed two free throws that could have pushed the Tigers back in front.

Darrius Walker twice missed the front end of bonus situations, and Telfair's three-point play with 1:53 left gave Lakewood its biggest lead at 58-53.

For the second straight game, star Sean Morrison - the lone returning player from the 2002 champions - struggled and Telfair picked up the slack.

Telfair was named tournament MVP after scoring 18, seven in the fourth quarter, and pulling down a game-high 13 rebounds.

"He was huge," Wright said.

The Spartans were No. 1 in the state poll most of the season before a loss in the district final dropped them to No. 4. They won three region games on the road and survived overtime in the state semifinals to get a shot at title No. 2.

They won't get a chance to defend this time, however. Next year they move to Class 5A.

But they left 4A the way they wanted.

As the best.

[Last modified March 13, 2005, 00:23:15]