Aug. 7, 2008 — The Lakers showed they belonged in the Choices Basketball Association finals by knocking off the defending champion Hoyas, 92-91, in the thrilling opening game of the CBA finals Wednesday night at the St. Croix Central High School gym.
Both teams left all they had on the court, to the delight of the fans.
The young Lakers team, playing without star guard Jerome "Hybs" Nathaniel, showed their depth as Shane "Sugar" Hodge and Robert Duck carried their team to victory by picking up the slack both offensively and defensively.
Asked about the loss of his teammate and fellow starter, Lakers shooting guard Hodge said, "Well, this is the championship, and we have to go with what we got.
"We knew inside was our strength, so we had to keep pounding it inside. This win was a total team effort."
According to Hoyas coach Samuel Lee, "Our guards lost their heads. We had some careless turnovers in overtime. That last turnover, I told them to get the ball in the middle of the floor — I did not want the ball in the corner."
The Lakers started fast and quickly opened up an 11-point lead in the first quarter at 15-4. The Hoyas responded with a 16-4 run to lead 20-19 at the end of one quarter. The Lakers showcased a balanced attack in the first period, while the Hoyas were paced by Darnell "Burger" Hendricks with 9 points.
A 7-2 start by the Hoyas in the second quarter had them leading 27-22 early, but the Lakers responded with a 4-0 run to get to within one at 27-26 with 5:24 left in the half. The Hoyas then outscored the Lakers 15-10 the rest of the way to go into the locker room with a six point lead at 42-36. The Hoyas got 16 points from their bench in the second period led by eight from Anthony "Stickman" Theodore.
After the Lakers got a three-pointer from Rashawn "Rooster" Williams to open the second half, the Hoyas responded with a 6-0 run to open their biggest lead of the game at 48-39. A 10-4 run by the Lakers and they were within three again at 52-49, However the Hoyas responded with 6-2 run to push the lead back to seven at 58-51 with 1:50 left in the third quarter.
What happened next was pure Lakers magic. They shut down the Hoyas offense over the next minute and a half and went on a 8-0 run to grab the lead at the end of the period at 59-58. Williams exploded for nine points in the quarter that included five in the final seven seconds.
After hitting two free throws to bring his team to within two points at 58-56, Williams stole the inbound pass and hit a three-pointer for the go-ahead as time expired. The Lakers' Robert Duck also brought the fans to their feet on a couple of occasions with some thunderous dunks in the third.
The Lakers outscored the Hoyas 8-4 to start the fourth quarter and quickly opened up a five point lead at 67-62. The Hoyas then went on a 5-0 runs highlighted by a three from Burger and the game was tied at 67 with 6:16 left in the game. A steal and a layup by the Lakers Kurt John and they now had the lead at 69-67. In a game of runs, the Lakers would score the next seven points, four each by Duck and Shane "Sugar" Hodge, to once again lead by five at 74-69. Back came the Hoyas with a 5-0 run and the game was again tied, 74 all, with 3:44 left in regulation after a long three by Burger. A slam by Theodore and the Hoyas were back on top at 76-74 with 2:22 left in the game.
The score was 80-78 Hoyas, with 12 seconds left in the game when the Lakers Carlos Solano stepped to the free throw line for two free-throws with a chance to tie and possibly send the game into overtime. Solano with ice water in his veins his both shots and the game was now tied at 80 with 11 seconds left. The Hoyas called timeout to hopefully set up a game-winning play.
On the inbound the ball went down low to the Hoyas Kurt John and he seemed to have an open lane to the basket for what would have been an easy lay-up with time just about gone, but Duck came out of no where to block the shot at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.
The Lakers started the five-minute overtime period on a 7-0 run to grab the lead and they looked well on their way to the opening game victory. The Hoyas got back in the game with a 6-0 run to get to within one at 87-86 on a three-pointer by Eddie Castillo and three free throws by Burger who was fouled on a three-pointer attempt with 1:39 left in overtime.
Burger was back on the line moments later with a chance to give his team the lead or at least tie the game. He hit one of two and the game was tied once again at 87 all with 34 seconds left on the clock. Roal Ceasar then hit a short jumper to give the lead back to the Lakers at 89-87.
The Hoyas' Andre McIntosh was fouled and went to the free throw line with a chance to tie but he missed both shots. Williams scored the next three points from the stripe to give the Lakers a five-point cushion at 92-87, but Burger came down the court, hit a three-pointer and was fouled on the play. He also hit the bonus and the Hoyas were within one at 92-91.
A turnover by the Lakers with 12 seconds left gave the Hoyas a great chance to tie or win the game, but they turned the ball over and the Lakers were able to come away with a hard-fought win in game one of the CBA finals.
Duck led four Lakers players in double figures with 23 points, Hodge dropped in 22, and Williams and Splano chipped in with 19 and 11 points respectively. For the Hoyas, "Burger" Hendricks finished with a game-high 31 points, Karl John knocked down 16, and Castillo and Theodore chipped in with 13 and 10 points respectively.
