Suffolk News-Herald

Mike Camp scored 16 points and Josh Russell and Eric Ruffin knocked in 13 apiece as Lake-land gave James Jones a resounding victory in his debut as their new head coach Tuesday, knocking off visiting Bayside 80-55. The Cavaliers (1-0, 0-0) dominated for virtually the entire game, racing to a 14-6 first quarter lead and increasing it to 35-20 at halftime.

They opened the second half with a 13-4 run in the first 3:07, racing to a 48-24 advantage. Cory Davis scored five consecutive points in the charge, and Kenny Reid and Mark Plenty also scored. The Marlins outscored the Cavaliers 11-8 in the remainder of the quarter, but Lakeland never let them get close, charging to a 66-42 lead midway through the final period.

At this point, a large group of students on the Lakeland side of the bleachers began alternating chants of &uot;We want Chase!&uot; and &uot;We want Steve!&uot; in reference to senior Chase Nelson, who celebrated his 18th birthday Wednesday, and Steve Morean, new this year to the varsity team. With just over three minutes to play, Jones granted the fans’ wish, putting the pair in. Nelson missed his first two shots, but buried a jumper with just over a minute to play, and Morean took an assist from Darold Lewis in the final minute and burned between two Marlins for a layup, the first points of his varsity career. Both buckets caused the Lakeland gym to explode into cheers.

The Cavaliers will attempt to continue their success when they visit Deep Creek on Friday. They’ll play in the opening round of the Next Level Tip-Off Saturday at Nansemond River High School, hosting Alexandria’s T.C. Williams at 2 p.m.

In the girls game, Bayside defeated the Lady Cavaliers 47-39. Shadonna Cox led Lakeland with 16 points, and Natasha Whitworth added eight. The Lady Cavaliers (0-0, 0-1) will host Deep Creek on Friday.