Don’t be fooled by Lebo’s No. 6 seed.
Adam Laflin and crew showed on Monday in the opening round of the Lyon County League Tournament with a 64-48 win over Marais des Cygnes Valley that they’re legitimate contenders this week to make what could be considered a Cinderella run.
“We can win the tournament if we play good,” Laflin said.
Lebo coach Doug Piper believes that to be true as well, and his argument rests with his star player.
“We always have a chance with him,” Piper said.
Laflin proved his coach’s point on Monday. The senior forward scored 23 points, dished out seven assists and pulled down nine rebounds.
Everyone in the LCL knows Laflin can play. He scored 45 points in a game earlier this season and routinely scores more than 20. But Lebo looked like more than a one-man show against the Trojans.
The Wolves took advantage of the attention paid to Laflin, and when Laflin penetrated into the paint, drawing two and three defenders, he found his teammates for open layups.
“I was trying to spread the ball around and not make it so much about me,” Laflin said.
Lebo had two others join Laflin in double figures, and freshman guard Trevor White added nine points. Junior guard Devon Johnston scored 12 and senior big man Dylan Smith chipped in 14 points and took away some of the attention paid to Laflin in the post.
“That’s Dylan’s best ballgame all year,” Piper said. “He’s struggled all year long hitting shots. He gets good shots and just can’t put it down, and tonight he finished.”
A majority of Lebo’s baskets came in the paint on layups. The Wolves shot 62 percent and went a perfect 7-for-7 in the fourth quarter.
The Trojans played a zone defense for much of the game, and Piper had worked with his team last week on beating the Trojans down the floor before they could set their defense.
It was a lesson Lebo learned against MdCV earlier in the season when the Trojans won by 18 by beating the Wolves down the court before they could set up their zone.
“That was probably the low point of our season,” Piper said. “... We just stood and watched them beat us, didn’t do anything, didn’t respond at all. We did a lot better tonight. There was a lot more on the line tonight.”
The Wolves came out early wanting to make a statement. Three of their baskets and two free throws came from following coach’s orders and beating the Trojans down the floor before they could set up the zone in the first quarter.
After MdCV tied the game at 9, Lebo started a 16-1 run that went into the second quarter. Laflin scored seven points during the run and had two assists.
The closest the Trojans would get the rest of the game was 10 in the third quarter, as the Wolves had some revenge in mind after losing big to MdCV earlier this season.
“We felt like we let that one slip away,” Smith said. “The LCL is a big tournament and we always play a lot better in the LCL than anywhere. We just knew we had to come in with a lot of intensity and get them back.”
With the win, Lebo advanced to Friday’s semifinal, where the Wolves will face No. 7 seed Waverly, which upset No. 2 Southern Coffey County on Monday.
With Laflin and a supporting cast that is starting to play better, Piper knows anything is possible this week for his sixth-seeded Wolves.
“Seeds don’t mean a thing in this tournament,” Piper said. “I think it’s just one of those whoever plays on a particular night.”
Lebo boys 64, Marais des Cygnes Valley 48
MdCV 9 5 19 15 — 48
Lebo 12 16 18 18 — 64
MdCV — Schmidt 9, McGowin 12, Engelken 2, Litch 8, Goodwin 5, Zabel 8, McGrew 4.
Lebo — Linsey 1, Gould 1, White 9, Johnston 12, Perry 2, Laflin 23, Barker 2, Smith 14.
Fouled out — Schmidt.
Waverly boys 63,
SCC 60, OT
Waverly’s Travis Sipe scored 26 points and Josh Teal added 19 to lead the seventh-seeded Bulldogs in an upset win in overtime.
Waverly trailed by five after the first quarter and worked its way back into the game over the next three quarters, tying the game at 53 to force overtime. The Bulldogs made 5-of-6 free throws in OT to pull out the win.
Justin Meyer led SCC with 17 points.
Waverly boys 63, SCC 60, OT
Waverly 10 16 11 16 10 — 63
SCC 15 12 13 13 7 — 60
Waverly — Sipe 26, Steward 10, Zilliox 5, Rice 3, Teal 19.
SCC — Craft 7, Spencer 6, Meyer 17, Smith 3, J. Ludolph 5, A. Ludolph 2, C. Ludolph 4.
Burlingame boys 71, Flinthills 59
Dustin Droege scored 20 points to lead Burlingame to a win in the play-in game of the Lyon County League Tournament.
Burlingame will play the tournament’s top seed, Olpe, tonight at 8:30.
Burlingame boys 71, Flinthills 59
Flinthills 21 8 18 12 — 59
Burlingame 20 19 20 12 — 71
Flinthills — Hinnen 3, Breech 25, Stands 9, Cope 8, P. Hefton 6, Vogt 6, Sjogren 2.
Burlingame — Clem 5, Lang 17, Droege 20, Masters 18, Smart 9, B. Vandevord 2.
Fouled out — B. Vandevord.