Evans Defeats Lakeside in OT

Evans entered Friday's region duel with rival Lakeside with a record of 16-4 overall and 4-0 in sub region 2A-AAAAA action.  To the uninformed, it may have seemed reasonable to count Lakeside, with its 7 total wins, as decided underdogs on the road.  But to counteract the effects of Evans' home court advantage, the Panthers brought their secret weapon: the soon-to-be-famous Lakeside student section.  After 37 minutes (including overtime) of frenetic action on the court and in the bleachers, the Knights needed a stop on the somewhat controversial final play to earn a 57-56 overtime victory over Lakeside.

Evans established a 24-19 lead at halftime after junior point guard Damion Foreman scored 9 points in the first two quarters.  After falling behind 35-34 in the third quarter, the Knights outscored the Panthers 17-4 during a six minute stretch that lasted until the 4:20 mark of the 4th quarter.

Lakeside's BJ Raymond and Sam Powell then combined to score 13 points to lead the Panthers in a furious comeback to even the game at 54 by the end of regulation.  Raymond started the spurt with 3 consecutive baskets to cut Evans' lead to 51-45.  Powell picked up where Raymond left off, scoring 7 of Lakeside's next 9 points, including 2 free throws with 43 seconds remaining to eventually force overtime.

The teams combined for only 5 points in the extra session.  Trailing by 1 point on the final possession, Raymond drove to the basket and appeared to be hit in the act of shooting.  But there was no call and Evans (5-0) held on to widen its sub region lead over Lakeside (2-3) and Grovetown (2-3), who are tied for the second spot in the standings.

Damion Foreman led the Knights with 18 points, while Sam Powell led all scorers with 23.

Our ABR Live reporter did a great job of capturing the action from the game in the video above.  And the video below features the wonderful spirit shown by each school's dedicated fans.  Evans coach Kevin Kenny said it best after the first Evans-Lakeside contest (another game that was decided on the final possession): "This is what high school basketball is supposed to be."  We agree!