Second-half dry spell dooms North Myrtle Beach in first round loss to Lakewood

Resilience was a trademark all season for the North Myrtle Beach basketball team, overcoming several seasons worth of issues to win the Region VII-AAA title.

But as luck would have it, the Chiefs were unable to get out of their own way at a time near-perfection was necessary.

Up by two at the break, cold shooting and a lack of execution came back to hurt North Myrtle Beach, with Lakewood taking full advantage in a 55-48 victory in the teams’ Class AAA first round playoff matchup.

“We had a tough practice (Monday), the kids horsing around a bit,” said North Myrtle Beach boys basketball coach Cameron Koehler. “I was hoping some of that had got out of their system yesterday, and for a while it did. But a lot of that showed up in the second half when we needed to be our sharpest and executed our best. It just didn’t happen.”

The Chiefs came out the gate firing, though, knocking down a bevy of long-range jumpers en route to an early 10-5 advantage. Lakewood would prove equal to the task though, making its share of shots from 3-point range to cut the North Myrtle Beach lead to three by the end of the quarter, 16-13.

Much like the period that preceded it, the Chiefs again used their proficiency from beyond the arc to open a lead against Lakewood, pushing it to seven midway through the second, 28-21. Region VII-AAA Player of the Year Josh Livingston was a catalyst in the North Myrtle Beach run, knocking down a pair of the team’s three 3-pointers in the quarter.

However, a 7-2 run to close the half gave the Gators a bit of momentum heading into the locker room, down by a bucket at 30-28.

From there, the Lakewood guard would take over.

With North Myrtle Beach unable to find the mark from the field – or free throw line, for that matter – in the second half, the Gators would find theirs as the backcourt combo of Jarvis Johnson and Grant Singleton heated up.

Johnson’s star shone brightest in the third, his seven points helping to push Lakewood in front. Singleton would turn out the lights in the fourth, the sophomore using a quick 5-point spurt to give the Gators a 50-40 lead, their largest of the game.

“They were big for us,” said Lakewood boys basketball coach Bryan Brown. “Our guard play has carried us all season, and tonight was pretty much the same. When we needed them to play their best, they rose up and made plays.”

North Myrtle Beach would pull within five points late, but as would prove to be the case in the game’s final half, uncharacteristic mistakes would be its undoing.

“There were plays to be made, they did and we didn’t … that was the difference,” Koheler said. “In the second half, it was about who made shots, who executed. We had chances, but our mistakes, missed free throws and missed lay-ups and turnovers hurt us in the end.”

Playing in his final high school game, Livingston had a game-high 16 points, with Reese Finch chipping in 11.

Singleton and Davonte Pack had 13 points apiece for Lakewood, which advances to take on Brookland-Cayce in the second round of the Class AAA playoffs.

North Myrtle Beach ends the season with a record of 10-13. Despite the loss, Koehler wanted his players to hold their heads high, acknowledging that they had overcome the odds simply by making it to the playoffs in the first place.

“To begin the season, we were getting beat by 30, and it wasn’t looking pretty,” he said. “But these kids fought their hearts out and did all they could to succeed, and because of it brought home what is the third region title in program history. Though we didn’t make it as far as we hoped, this season wound up a success because of them.”

This story was originally published February 16, 2016 at 10:58 PM with the headline "Second-half dry spell dooms North Myrtle Beach in first round loss to Lakewood."