Lafayette Fighting Irish advance in Class 4 District 16 Basketball Tournament
By Calvin Silvers
Classes 1-3 competed in their district tournaments last week, paving the way for Classes 4-6 to get their opportunity this week to punch their tickets to the state tournament.
It was the opening round for Class 4 District 16 out at Lafayette High School, and the four-seeded Fighting Irish were able to advance to the semifinals in a 60-41 victory over fifth-seeded Savannah Savages.
The contest began with Lafayette hitting a free-throw, before junior Kyzdon Robertson did a stop-and-go to get past his defender for a shot off the glass to push the lead to 3-0. After another free-throw, Savannah would be able to tie it at four, before Lafayette’s Ethan Zeit hit a 3-pointer in the left corner to go back up 7-4 with 4:19 remaining.
The Savages would pull back within two points after Wyatt Jackson was left open in the right corner. His shot cut the lead 11-9, but a steal from Lafayette’s Jodell Redman who passed ahead to Antonio Williams for the dunk helped Lafayette propel to a 20-9 lead after the first quarter.
The second quarter wasn’t as productive to begin, as neither team scored until the 6:28 mark, with the dry spell being broken by the Fighting Irish. It would be Robertson, this time he’d test his range from beyond the arc and it’d fall, pushing the lead 23-9 and trying to break this game open.
Savannah would step up their defense, not allowing the Fighting Irish to tack onto the lead too much, as they brought it back within 10 points twice, once after Aiden Knechtenhofer got a floater to fall, and back to Knechtenhofer who again finished down low. Despite this, Lafayette went into the locker room up 32-18.
Beginning of the third quarter was much like the second, but this one had an even longer scoring drought, with Lafayette once again breaking the spell, this time with 5:35 remaining in the third quarter. It was Robertson who broke the drought, with a stop-and-pop for a long two points.
Not too long after, it would be Williams down low, who used a spin to get past his defender in the paint and finish at the rim. Some turnovers would result in points on the other end for Lafayette, and they took a commanding 45-24 lead into the final quarter.
While Savannah did find some success in the fourth, they dug themselves too big of a hole to come out of. For Lafayette, three Irish scored in double figures, with Redman leading the way with 12 points. Williams and Ethan Zeit had 10 each.
For Savannah, Zayden Snapp was the leading scorer with 10 points. Lafayette will take on Benton on Thursday at 7 p.m.
