The Cavs fell to the Bruins for the second time this year in the waning seconds of the game.

The season series is completed between Lakeland and Western Branch’s boys’ basketball teams. Western Branch is undefeated at 16-0 but in two games have defeated Lakeland by a combined four points — an extremely impressive performance for a young Lakeland team. In both games, they took arguably the best team in the Hampton Roads area and the top team in the Southeastern District down to the wire.

Both teams were neck-and-neck throughout the game until Western Branch started to pull away late in the fourth quarter. A 14-4 run at the end of the game sealed the deal and gave the Bruins a 70-68 win.

Coach Clint Wright was proud of his team’s effort and felt like the Cavs had done enough to win the game.

“It came down to execution at the end of the day,” Wright said. “We made shots and hit free throws. We even had a good third quarter, which we don’t normally have. We kept it close towards the end, but it came down to proper execution, and that did not happen for us.”

Lakeland is hoping to build off of this game going forward. The Cavs played hard, and everyone from the players to coaches wanted the game. They play Oscar Smith High School on Tuesday and will get another chance to knock off a top team.

“We are getting better, and we are super excited about the direction we are going in,” Wright said. “The great thing about basketball as a young team is that we have more basketball left to play.”

“Our hunger and mentality was there,” the Cavs’ Quentin Livingston said. “Everybody was locked in and focused, and we all played together. I feel like we are dangerous. We really wanted this win, and we fell short, but it is OK.”

Keimari Artis had 16 points to lead the Cavs Friday night, and Jaren Reid added 15 points. The Cavs will go on the road to face Oscar Smith at 7 p.m.

Western Branch 70, Lakeland 68

WB—White 26, Bynum 13, Dixon 10, Shepard 9, Edmonds 6, McCracken 2, Choi 2, Brown 1, Newkirk 1

L—Artis 16, Reid 15, Ricks 11, Livingston 7, White 7, Bellamy 4, Trotter 2, St. John 2, Hargraves 2, Hawkins 2