Laker Jack Lesure led his squad to a 64-50 quarterfinals win over Poland at the Portland Expo on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 13, tallying 22 points, most of them real fireworks.
Through the opening half, the score actually hung quite tight: Heading into the break, LRHS held just a four-point advantage, 27-23. But Lesure & Co. gradually broke things open in the latter two quarters.
“Focus, definitely,” said Lesure of what changed as the game went on. “Coach made it a point to really get us locked-in, because we knew that the first half wasn’t good enough, especially against the better teams that we’d be playing.
“We tried to keep the negative thoughts out of the way, and play like we knew we could. It all worked out.”
Poland’s Jared Martel began the third with a three to bring the Knights within one, but that’s as close as they would get. Lesure turned a number of offensive rebounds and crowd-pleasing steals into buckets or assists, and the other gears in the Laker machine likewise moved smoothly. Marcus DeVoe, Alex Langadas, Nate Smith and Nick Wandishin all fought for possessions, moved the ball crisply and drained points as LRHS, bit by bit, pulled away.
For head coach John Mayo, the change showed especially in the team’s protection. “We realized we’d better focus on defense,” Mayo said. “Our transition from offense to defense was lacking in the first half. Sometimes, got caught up in the moment a little bit.
“And, offensively we missed some easy ones early on. That hurt us, to get into our rhythm. Miss a layup here, a jumpshot here that we normally make, that hurt us.”
In addition to Lesure’s 22, DeVoe and Wandishin both finished with 10. Smith, Langadas and Brandon Palmer added six apiece.
“Basically just what I did in practice,” Lesure said of what goes through his mind in a big performance. “Coach has been stressing all year aggressive defense, which is something that’s been new to me. A lot is in my mind, but at the same time, there’s nothing – it’s clear. I’m just trying to focus on the game and keep it simple.”
The Lakers entered the tournament ranked first in B South, at 16-2; the W over Poland bumps them to 17-2. They faced off with No. 4 Lincoln in the semifinals on Thursday the 18th, after the Lakes Region Weekly’s print deadline. Look for coverage of that game and more in next week’s edition.
Laker Alex Langadas cuts back from a Poland defender Saturday afternoon.
Laker Jack Lesure defies both Caleb Hodgkin (22) and Greg Leighton (23) of Poland on his way to the rim Saturday afternoon.
Lake Region’s Nick Wandishin, whose recent facial hair decisions thoroughly inspired his team’s student fan section on Saturday afternoon, goes up for an easy two against Poland.
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