Bolts Stun 'Naughts in 2-OT Thriller

THE LEDGER 

LAKELAND | Ridge Community basketball coach Don Skipper carries with him a silver "Believe" sign, one his wife gave him off her desk from her old job.

 

It's a motto he's been preaching since Day 1 of basketball workouts. Believe in team. Believe in hard work. Believe in getting to states.

 

The Bolts (19-7) got one step closer to that last goal Tuesday night when they held on to beat Lakeland, 68-64, in a thrilling double overtime game of a Class 7A, Region 2 semifinals.

 

Ridge will face Oak Ridge, 57-50 winners over Poinciana, on the road this Saturday in a regional final that is set to tip off at 7 p.m. If the Bolts win, they advance to the state tournament for the first time in school history. Ridge has battled uphill to get this far. The team was the fifth seed heading into the district tournament, but scratched and clawed through two tough contests to get into the title game against Lakeland, which the Bolts lost by two.

 

It was the third time this season that Ridge had fallen to the Dreadnaughts (16-11). So Tuesday's win, in an elimination game, was as sweet as powdered sugar.

 

"We wanted this bad," said Ridge shooting guard Terry Rose, who finished with 22 points, including eight free throws in the second overtime period.

 

Rose, who was held to 12 points the last time out against Lakeland mostly because of suffocating defense by the Dreadnaughts' Eric Moody, showed it.

 

He penetrated the lane more and did a nice job of finding teammates for scores. Mike Wright's aggressiveness in the lanes was key, too.

 

Moody, who led Lakeland with 20, helped push the game into overtime by hitting key free throws down the stretch in regulation. But he fouled out with 3:19 left in double overtime, giving Ridge a little bit of relief. "That took a lot of pressure off knowing he wasn't coming back into the game," said Wright, who finished with 20.

 

 

 

RIDGE COMMUNITY (68): Richard Richardson 3, Terry Rose 22, Mike Wright 20, David Johnson 6, Shykeem Pitts 2, Dezaran Jones 10, Donte Clifton 3, JaDe'Rian Johnson 2.

 

LAKELAND (64): Eric Moody 20, Raheeme Dumas 6, Logan Senechek 11, Ian Bacon 13, Kyle Kirby 2, Jadrian Clark 3, Jalen Stevenson 9.

 

Ridge 11 11 17 14 2 13 — 68

 

Lakeland 11 10 20 12 2 9 — 64

 

Halftime: Ridge Community 22-21. 3-pointers: Ridge Community 4 (Wright 1, Jones 2, Richardson 1); Lakeland 5 (Senechek 3, Bacon 1, Moody 1).