LCHS boys basketball takes down Chestatee

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  • Indians scoring standout Pat Jackson flies through traffic to the basket for two of his 15 points in Lumpkin’s loss to eighth-ranked Banks County at the Longhouse last week.
    Indians scoring standout Pat Jackson flies through traffic to the basket for two of his 15 points in Lumpkin’s loss to eighth-ranked Banks County at the Longhouse last week.
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The second week of the 2019-2020 season proved to be more successful for the LCHS varsity boys basketball team than its first week, as the Indians went 1-1 and secured their first victory of the season.
With the mantra of “it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon,” the Indians began to show the potential of what they are capable of on the court when they led the Chestatee War Eagles from start to finish to earn their first victory of the season before losing a tough battle against the eighth-ranked Banks County Leopards last week.
The Indians began the week with their home opener at the Longhouse at the LCHS gymnasium against the Chestatee War Eagles on Tuesday, Nov. 19.
The War Eagles handed Lumpkin its first loss of the season in the Indians’ season opener a week previous and the Indians were looking for some redemption in front of their home crowd, along with their first win of the season.
From the starting tip-off to the final buzzer, the Indians controlled the game and refused to allow the War Eagles an opportunity to fight their way back into the contest.
Lumpkin scoring standout Pat Jackson delivered an inspired 19-point performance to lead the Indians to victory. Jackson’s silky smooth jump shot combined with his aggressively acrobatic drives to the basket made life difficult for the Chestatee defenders. Jackson also made his presence known on the boards, pulling down eight rebounds in the game, and got his teammates involved on offense with five assists.
Jackson’s sensational performance was bolstered by the play of Jacob Cumbie and Peyton Polk. Cumbie, who has shown a propensity to drive to the basket regardless of how clogged the lane may be, knocked down 16 points and grabbed five rebounds versus Chestatee while Polk connected for 11 points and pulled down six rebounds.
Chandler Pulley, who has been explosive off the bench for the Indians so far this season, dropped eight points, and point guard Gus Faulkner contributed four points, five rebounds and five assists.
The tenacious defense and hot shooting by the Indians allowed them to secure their first victory of the year, as they defeated the War Eagles by a final score of 67-43.
The win improved the Indians’ overall record to 1-2.
Lumpkin followed its win over Chestatee with another home game at the Longhouse on Friday, Nov. 22, versus the eighth-ranked Banks County Leopards.
Both teams’ offenses came out of the gate slow, leading to a low scoring first quarter of play. With baskets hard to come by, the Indians were happy to only be trailing 11-8 by the end of the quarter.
In the second quarter, the Indians and the Leopards began to heat up and went back-and-forth trading buckets until the halftime buzzer. The Indians outscored Banks County 21-20 in the quarter, but still trailed 31-29.
The third quarter proved to be the difference maker in the game, as the Leopards went on a 10-4 run to extend their lead to 41-33.
The Indians kept fighting until the final buzzer, but were unable to climb out of the deficit they found themselves in.
In the end, Banks County proved to be too much for the Indians to handle and won the contest by a final score of 64-45.
Jackson led the offensive charge for the Indians in the game, scoring 15 points and recording five rebounds.
Cumbie had a strong first half, scoring 13 points, but wasn’t able to get on the scoreboard in the second half of play.
Pulley once again added a spark off the bench and dropped eight points the loss to the Leopards.
The loss dropped the Indians’ overall record to 1-3.
At press time, the Indians were set to begin the first day of the Jefferson Thanksgiving Tournament hosted by Jefferson High School on Saturday, Nov. 23, versus Dacula. No official results were available.
The three-day tournament continued on Monday, Nov. 25, and Tuesday, Nov. 26.
The Indians will be back in action when they travel to Cherokee Bluff to face off with the Bears in a conference matchup on Tuesday, Dec. 3. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.