DIVISION II Lakeview falls to Canton South

The Bulldogs' first regional appearance in 39 years ended in a 51-35 loss.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
CANTON -- Lakeview High boys basketball coach Rich Stevens preferred to look at the big picture.
His team had just lost to Canton South 51-35 in the Division II regional semifinal Wednesday at Memorial Civic Center.
Yet, the loss wasn't as important to Stevens as the Bulldogs playing in their first regional tournament since 1962.
"Our goal is to build some memories for these kids and have some positive experiences for them," said Stevens, the sixth-year coach. "I think we provided that."
Making a difference: Canton South's matchup zone defense forced the Bulldogs into 31 percent shooting from the field (12-of-39).
"The last three weeks it's been very good to us," Canton South coach Henry Cobb said of his team's defense. "The matchup zone stopped their shooters and held down their big people."
Stevens said, "When they started out in their man-to-man, we were just fine. But when they went to that matchup, we started taking some shots we normally wouldn't take.
"It slows you down and makes you shoot from the outside," Stevens said of the zone. "If you make them, great. If not, you're done."
Expansive: In addition to Canton South's defense, Stevens pointed to the expansive surroundings of the Memorial Civic Center as another factor that hurt his team.
"This is a tough background to shoot in," he said. "If you don't get a chance to play in a situation like this, it could take a while to get adjusted."
Lakeview (20-4) never really adjusted. Canton South (20-4) took its first lead nearly midway through the first quarter and never trailed again.
"When you're down 10 in a regional semifinal and you've never been there before, the tendency is to panic when you're 16, 17 years old," Stevens said.
Although they appeared out of synch for most of the game, the Bulldogs tried to regroup in the second half.
They cut their 20-point third-quarter deficit to 11 with two minutes gone in the fourth quarter. But Canton South maintained its lead.
"When we made our little mini run, we never got over the hump," Stevens said.
High scorers: Lakeview was led by senior Josh Hoffman with 14 points and senior Ty Burin with 10 points.
Senior Jake Reid made his first tournament appearance since suffering a collapsed lung in the team's final regular season game, but he went scoreless in limited duty.
The Bulldogs opened the season with a 2-2 record but bounced back to post the 20 wins, including 10 straight heading into Wednesday's game.
"When you reflect back on what they did, it's a real positive thing. That's what I want them to remember," Stevens said of his players.
"Fifteen years from now, I want them to look back and say, 'Man, we had a good time. We had a nice run.' "