Boys basketball: No. 4 Lake Worth trips up No. 6 Atlantic in overtime

Tuesday, January 08, 2013
by The Palm Beach Post

Two of the region's best teams put on a show Tuesday night, with fourth-rankedLake Worth emerging with a thrilling 78-72 overtime victory against district rival and sixth-ranked Atlantic at Lake Worth's gym.

Atlantic's Jamal Palmer and Lake Worth's Aaron Horne showed why they are rated among the top players in Palm Beach County. Palmer scored a game-high 31 points and Horne tallied 29 points for Lake Worth.

The game was a see-saw battle from the opening tipoff, with neither team holding more than a six-point advantage throughout the contest.

Both teams struggled at the free-throw line, but Lake Worth made them when they counted to secure the Trojans' 13th victory, six more than they had all season.

"Free throws caught up with us and (Lake Worth) capitalized," said Atlantic coach Brad Flaig, whose team was 17-for-29 at the foul line. "That's been our Achilles heel."

Lake Worth's Eno Pierre-Louis connected on a short buzzer-beating jumper inside to send the game into overtime and Horne scored seven points, including 3-for-3 at the foul line, in the overtime period to give the Trojans (13-1) the important District 14-7A win against the preseason district favorite Eagles (11-5). It was the first district game for both teams, who will meet again a week from Friday at Atlantic.

"What a great high school game," Lake Worth coach Murray Smith said.

Horne and Palmer each were huge in the second half and overtime period for their respective teams. Both had only eight points at halftime.

Lake Worth was 15-for-24 at the foul line, but the Trojans made 10 of their 13 attempts in the overtime period that proved to be the difference. Craig Dukes, who connected on four three-pointers, contributed 18 points for Lake Worth.

"They're not always pretty in what they do, but they play hard and with determination," Smith said of his players. "Our guys never stopped. Atlantic's a great team. I think we're making strides."

No. 2 Palm Beach Lakes 80, Forest Hill 47: Quinn Cole scored 19 points and Kamil Williams added 16 as the Rams (10-1) raced past the Falcons in West Palm Beach.

No. 3 St. Andrew's 59, Cardinal Newman 30: Mark Corner had six points, six assists, and six assists and George Andino added 12 points as the Scots (13-2) handled the Crusaders in Boca Raton.

No. 9 Wellington 57, Dwyer 50 (OT): Dondre Duffus scored 20 points and Nick Arena added 18 as the Wolverines (13-5) held off the Panthers in Wellington.

Royal Palm Beach 53, Santaluces 47: JoJo Williams scored 16 points as the Wildcats (10-3) defeated the Chiefs in Royal Palm Beach.

Boca Raton 58, Seminole Ridge 18: Max Mckee scored 16 points and Mike O'Connor added 13 to lead the Bobcats to the rout of the Hawks in Loxahatchee.

Boynton Beach 58, Jensen Beach 51: Jermaine Joseph scored 14 points and Kory brown added 12 to lead the Tigers over the Falcons (11-4) in Jensen Beach.

Oxbridge Acamdemy 57, Pine School 44: Jake Gephart scored 19 points as the Thunderwolves (9-3) beat the Knights in Stuart.

John I. Leonard 71, Spanish River 61: Rashad Grover had 23 points and 10 rebounds as the Lancers (7-7) defeated the Sharks in Greenacres.

American Heritage 62, Village Academy 59: A.J. Garson hit a 3-pointer as time expired to send the game into overtime and had 20 points and 12 rebounds to help the Stallions (7-8) hold off the Tigers in Delray Beach

Park Vista 68, Miami-Monsignor Pace 61: Christian Brown scored 15 points and Danny Wale added 14 as the Cobras (9-7) defeated the Spartans in Lake Worth.

Pahokee 62, Jupiter Christian 30: James Johnson scored 22 points and Anton Paige added 10 points as the Blue Devils cruised past the Eagles (3-9) in Jupiter.

Lake Worth Christian 80, Wellington Christian 37: Jeantal Cylla had 37 points and seven rebounds and Junior Luxama added 10 points and eight rebounds to lead the Defenders (7-6) to the rout of the Eagles in Lake Worth.

Suncoast 84, Fort Pierce Westwood 49: Jonathan Odjo scored 22 points and Santigie Fornah added 18 to lead the Chargers (12-3) to the rout of the Panthers in Fort Pierce.

Boca Raton Christian 70, Morningside Academy 30: R.J. Walsh scored 21 points and Casey Carpinello added 10 assists, leading the Blazers (11-4) to the rout of the Eagles in Boca Raton.

Martin County 74, Port St. Lucie 58: Domenico Santiago scored 19 points and Alan Morgan added 18, but the Jaguars (8-5) fell to the Tigers in Port St. Lucie.