By Matthew Hatfield

Special to the News-Herald

The Lakeland boys’ basketball team notched a dramatic 49-48 victory over the Northeastern Eagles in the inaugural Hampton Roads Winter Classic held at Norview High School in Norfolk on Monday.

Northeastern, which hails from Elizabeth City, N.C., led for much of the way and by as many as seven points in the third quarter. However, Lakeland battled back and went up by two with 1:25 to go after a pair of free throws from Deonta Knight.

A three-point play from Tyleik Overton put the Eagles back in front with less than a minute to play. From a time-out, the Cavaliers had one last chance, and Lakeland senior Jamonte Ricks rose to the occasion.

Ricks, who had missed all eight of his free-throw attempts earlier in the game, came up big in the clutch by sinking a go-ahead jumper with seven seconds left.

“I just went up and took a shot that I normally shoot, the mid-range,” said Ricks, who’s in his second year on the varsity level. “It’s a great feeling. We’re getting better all-around as a team and improving at working together.”

Lakeland is now 12-3 overall and has won six in a row.

“We didn’t shoot free-throws well, and our open shots well, but we kept believing,” Lakeland head coach Clint Wright said. “This unit has been together for quite a while. Even the last play that Jamonte made, it was called ‘5-out,’ and it was basically available for anyone. They’re trusting in each other.”

To Wright’s point, the Cavs had to overcome some adversity. Lakeland was just 8-of-23 from the foul line, including 1-of-8 in the first half.

“There’s a resiliency with my ball club, but we’re also creatures of habit. We’re used to playing on a Tuesday and a Friday at 7 o’clock. Very rarely do we play on a Monday at noon time,” Wright said.

But he also reminded his team that last year the 4A state championship was at 10 a.m.

The Cavs missed 11 of their first 12 three-point shots and were out-rebounded 44-35 by Northeastern, giving the Eagles a 37-32 lead into the fourth quarter.

“Northeastern is a tremendous basketball team, and they play very physical, but our intent was not to back down,” Wright added.

Leading Lakeland with 13 points was Ricks, who was 6-of-10 from the field and collected five rebounds. But Northeastern focused on Knight, who still managed to fill the stat sheet with 11 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and three steals.

“With him being able to dribble the ball and get to the basket, they sometimes double team him, and that leaves me open to take advantage,” Ricks said.

Also scoring in double-figures for Lakeland was Daquan Boyette with 11 points. Both Jerry Goodman and Daquan Boyette made critical three-pointers in the second half to help cut into the deficit.

“Typically, we’ve had five or six players that have led us in scoring throughout the season,” Wright said.

Since losing an eight-point lead in their final game of 2015 against Hampton, Lakeland has recovered nicely. The Cavs are a perfect 6-0 in 2016.

“What our team learned from the Hampton game was the camaraderie,” Wright said. “At times in the past after a loss, we would’ve simply separated and went our own different directions. That game they sat there and consoled each other.”

“The first thing they wanted to do was get back in the gym and that’s a great feeling,” he added. “Our practices were so dialed in. Even though it was a loss, we’ve gotten success out of it, because we don’t want to have that feeling again, and it brought our guys closer together.”