Warriors pull away in second half for road win

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, December 16, 2015

By Kevin Eckleberry

keckleberry@civitasmedia.com

When the LaGrange Academy Warriors hosted Chambers Academy earlier this month, it was no contest.

LaGrange Academy surged to a big early lead, and it rolled to a 61-34 victory on its home floor.

The rematch proved to be a more competitive game, but the outcome was the same.

The Warriors trailed at the half, but they dominated the final two periods to claim a 69-56 victory to improve to 6-2.

LaGrange Academy head coach Britt Gaylor said his team’s defensive effort, as well as the performance of the post players, made the difference in the second half.

“We came out in the second half and played really well defensively,” Gaylor said. “And we made a commitment to get the ball into the post, and they couldn’t guard us once we made that commitment.”

LaGrange Academy’s two inside players, Whit Moreman and Lincoln Anderson, each scored 19 points.

After getting blown out in the first meeting, Chambers Academy came out strong in the rematch and took a 32-30 lead at the half.

“We didn’t shoot well in the first half, and they hit some shots they didn’t hit against us the first time when we played them,” Gaylor said.

The Warriors were able to turn things around in the second half to get the 13-point win.

“It was a good win for us, just to learn how to handle situations like that,” Gaylor said. “We’ll have a couple of games like that on the road, especially in our region. There’ll be things that won’t go our way. We just have to overcome it.”

LaGrange Academy will be back home on Thursday to host Heritage.

The girls’ game will tip off at 6 p.m., with the boys’ game to follow at 7:30 p.m.

That will be the final games for LaGrange Academy’s teams until Jan. 5.

Reach Kevin Eckleberry at (706) 884-7311 or on Twitter @lagrangesports