With a two hour drive under their belt, North Lawdale vowed not to come home empty handed at the Grant Invitational Tournament. North Lawndale (2-0) faced off against a young Carmel team (0-2), looking to rebound after the previous night’s loss against Schurz. Facing a high pressure, up tempo North Lawndale team, Carmel put forth a great effort against the Phoenix before falling 61-48.
Entering the fourth quarter, the Corsairs were only down 6 points as they held opposing star forward Larry Johnson in check. North Lawndale’s 2-3 zone forced the Corsairs to slow down their motion offense and settle for perimeter shots. Fighting to keep within striking distance, Carmel’s Coby Brame drew a charge to give Carmel the ball and momentum towards a potential comeback with 4:09 to play. But the Phoenix defense stymied Carmel’s comeback hopes. “We had several turnovers which resulted in a few easy buckets,” commented coach Zach Ryan, “We also had some unnecessary fouls late in the game which resulted in bonus free throws.”
The exclamation point of the evening was Larry Johnson’s one handed slam dunk with 3:18 left, extending the lead to 54-40. A second dunk off an alley oop capped Johnson’s 19 point performance. The junior proved to be too athletic for the Corsair defense, “I was aggressive on rebounds and put backs tonight. I saw the gaps and hit them. ”
Carmel’s Kimahri Wilson matched Johnson’s total with 19 points, including hitting 9 of 10 free throws. Coach Ryan observed, “He brings energy to the team when he is playing well. Tonight, he really picked up his defense and energy in the second half. We have to come back with the same energy tomorrow.” Carmel looks for their first win Wednesday evening as they face Grant (0-2) who fell to Schurz 81-71.