Michael Ball of CSAS steals the basketball from Devon Jones of Lake County High School during the state basketball tournament at MTSU in Murfreesboro, Tenn., on Wednesday. CSAS lost 66-62.
Staff Photo by John Rawlston/Chattanooga Times Free PressMURFREESBORO, Tenn. – So much is made about experience benefiting teams at the state tournament level, but a lack of experience may have been what benefitted Lake County in Wednesday’s Class A quarterfinal.
With just one senior on the roster, and zero state tournament experience, the Falcons never appeared affected by the emotion of the closing minutes and knocked off Arts & Sciences 66-62 for the program’s first state tournament win.
The Patriots were the only team returning from last year’s state tournament and have seven seniors who saw action, but struggled down the stretch of a game that saw 17 lead changes and 13 ties. Neither team ever led by more than six points.
“Maybe our kids are just too young to be scared or intimidated by how big the moment was,” said Falcons coach Dawn Barger, who played at Soddy-Daisy and is the wife of former Central football coach David Barger. “CSAS is a senior-led team with a lot more experience here than we have, but we’ve been in big games before and our kids know how to handle themselves.”
Michael Ball’s layup with 1:35 remaining put CSAS ahead by four, but the Falcons answered with two baskets in a 24-second span to tie the game, then turned up the defensive pressure and forced turnovers on three consecutive possessions by the Patriots.