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GAHANNA - Everything was there for the Lancaster boys’ basketball team on Tuesday, March 3, against Gahanna in a Central District Division I district semifinal.
The Golden Gales’ defense was on point, holding the Lions to 32 points through three quarters, and they forced 13 turnovers. However, while Lancaster’s defense was doing its job, its offense struggled mightily shooting the ball.
Even though they had some great looks, the Gales went just 1-of-10 from 3-point range in the first half and finished 4 for 20 from long range for the game.
By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the Gales ran out of gas as the Lions pulled away for a 55-38 victory, in a game where the final score wasn’t indicative of how the game was played.
“It’s kind of been the theme for us all year,” Lancaster coach Kent Riggs said. “We have to shoot the ball well because we’re not going to score in a lot of other ways, as far as getting offensive rebounds or throwing the ball inside to the post. It would have been nice to get to the foul line more than we did, but we were shooting jumpers. Even as bad as we were shooting it, we were still in the game, but we knew they were going to score.
“We were worried about their size, but I thought we did a good job. Once we got down 10, we had to start chasing, and then things got out of hand. Defensively, we were good for three quarters, and we couldn’t have done much better, so I am proud of our effort, but you have to be able to score more than 38 points.”
Lancaster (9-14) finished the game shooting 14-of-37 from the field and went 6-for-6 at the free throw line. By comparison, the Lions (17-6) were 18 of 30 from the field, outrebounded the Gales 18-10, and were 17-of-23 from the free throw line, including 10 of 11 in the final three minutes.
Lancaster was led by senior Drew Whitlatch, who finished with 19 points, four rebounds and three assists. He was the only Lancaster player in double figures. Davis Call added eight points.
Gahanna had three players in three double figures.
At the end of the first quarter, the Gales trailed 11-10, and even though they went 1-for-7 in the second quarter, a 3-pointer from Whitlatch, they were still in the game at halftime, trailing 21-15.
Lancaster was within striking distance late in the third quarter, trailing 29-25, but two turnovers enabled the Lions to score three unanswered points to take a 32-25 lead into the fourth quarter. Whitlatch was single-handedly keeping the Gales in it as he scored eight of the Gales’ 10 third-quarter points.
Gahanna started the fourth quarter on a 12-3 run to expand its lead to 44-32, and the Gales never recovered.
Tom Wilson is a sports reporter for the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette. Contact him at 740-689-5150 or via email at [email protected] for comments or story tips. Follow him on X at twil2323.
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Lancaster basketball falls to Gahanna in district semifinal