Lebanon beats Kings in familiar fashion

KINGS MILLS— The script has become redundant.

Lebanon jumps out to an early double-digit lead, Kings battles back and takes the lead late, only to have a Warrior senior hit a big shot down the stretch to lift Lebanon to victory.

For the third straight year, that was the formula as the Warriors edged host Kings 54-49 in overtime on Tuesday, Jan. 19.

“I told the kids we’ve lost so many close ones to Lebanon, the odds were in our favor to win one,” Kings coach Mike Stevens said. “I guess not this time. It’s a great rivalry, as always. You get your money’s worth when you come watch these two teams go at it.”

Lebanon senior A.J. Walter scored seven of his 11 points in the extra period — including a three-pointer with 1:16 remaining to tie the game at 48.

A steal by Blake Davenport on the ensuing possession, followed by two free throws gave Lebanon the lead for good. Walter then sank four free throws in the final 37 seconds to seal the win.

“It was the only three I hit all night but it was the most important one,” Walter said. “I knew it was good when it left my hands.

“The three and Blake’s steal really gave us a lift emotionally. After that, I wanted the ball in my hands. We had to make free throws at the end to win, and I feel like that’s my job.”

Lebanon (3-8) raced to 21-9 lead early in the first quarter behind Beau Smith, who scored all 12 of his points in the first half.

But, Kings (4-8) quickly closed the gap to 24-23 behind the bench play of Zach Hilderbrand, Tommy Schnee and Nick Bird who combined for 10 points.

“They came out and knocked us in the mouth,” Stevens said. “We knew they were explosive, but the kids kept fighting and scraping and found a way to come back. You got to commend the effort.”

The Knights employed a 1-3 chaser defense on Davenport to slow down the Warriors, then switched to a triangle-and-two in the second half to contain Davenport and Smith.

“I thought we got good looks at the basket in the first half against that defense, but we didn’t knock down the shots,” Lebanon coach Pat Murphy said. “We told the kids to keep shooting and late in the game, we knocked down the shots when we had to.

“Those guys, Kings...records don’t matter when we play them. They play hard and battle for 32 minutes. We respect them as much as anybody we play.”

Spencer Berlekamp, who finished with 14 points, gave Kings its first lead at 41-40 midway through the fourth.

Davenport and Walter scored the next four points to give Lebanon a 44-41 lead, but Kings’ Jonny Brewster hit a NBA-range three-pointer with 50 seconds remaining to ultimately send the game into overtime.

Brewster finished with 11 points and eight rebounds, while Brooks Gear added 12 for Kings.

Davenport led all scorers with 16 points. Jordan Russell was the game’s top rebounder with 11 boards, while Blake Bates joined Brewster as the Knights’ top rebounder with eight.

Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4526 or shayes@coxohio.com.

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