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View Full Version : Laneville wins Texas Class A Div. II State Basketball Title!



Little Texan
03-09-2008, 06:32 PM
I know it's probably not all that big of a deal, but I'm proud of my hometown team going into Austin this weekend, kicking ass, and coming home with the State Championship, so I thought I'd brag on them a little! :D

Link (http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20080309/SPORTS05/803090311)

Laneville Captures State Title
UIL STATE TOURNAMENT

By CHASE COLSTON
Staff Writer

AUSTIN - You would never know you drove into Laneville, Texas, if not for the wooden sign.


It welcomes you to the small town and lets you in on a well-known secret: Laneville loves its basketball. The town is glued by basketball in such a way the closest comparison might be the one in the film, "Hoosiers."


The secret is also a history lesson. Laneville has two state championships, back-to-back in fact, in 1992 and '93.



And the townspeople, most of whom sat in Section 37 at the Frank Erwin Center Saturday night, will be anxious to add 2008 to that sign next week.


Laneville culminated a magical run and wiped away bad memories from last season by winning its third state championship with a 56-50 victory over Goodrich in front of 10,262 fans.


"I wanted this for them. Any coach wants to win a state championship, but after being so close to winning last year, it hurt the kids to taste that," said Laneville coach Brian Nichols, whose team lost to Nazareth in the title game last year.


The team and town that are so bound by basketball are, in more ways than one, bound by relation. Marcus Anderson, who scored 25 points in the final, said the Yellowjackets won as a family.


"We are all kin-folk and we dreamed this in the backyard," Anderson said.


Anderson's father, Marcus Anderson Sr., played in the state tournament in 1986. He was Laneville's leading scorer, like his son, but Marcus Jr. has something else.


"Being able to do something my daddy didn't accomplish means a lot to me," Marcus Anderson Jr. said. "I think he'd be proud of me because I lead this team like he did and we won state."


Laneville (32-5) won the Class A Division II crown much like it did in Friday's semifinal. It dominated the paint, but this time against a team with an obvious size advantage and also a stellar basketball reputation.


Goodrich (32-6) could not get close shots to fall or beat Laneville on the boards. The Yellowjackets won the rebounding battle, 47-36, and had 18 on the offensive end.


"In order for us to beat them we had to control that part of the game," Nichols said. "Our perimeter players did a good job of cutting down the penetration."


Championship game MVP Byron Blanton played bigger than his 5-10 stature with a double-double. He scored 18 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and twice put back misses through the bucket.


Fellow post player Gerraylon Carey, who had eight blocks in the semifinals, added three more to his eight points and nine rebounds.


Careys' and several others' older cousin, Mark Carey, and another senior from last year in Alfred Upshaw, had seats right behind Laneville's bench and joined the mob after the final horn sounded.


Blanton gave Laneville its largest lead, 41-31, with 1:29 left in the third. He caught the ball in the bottom-left corner, made a nifty fake left and drove the baseline for an easy layup.


Goodrich cut the lead to four on an Akemo Wright 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter. The Hornets, who did not attempt a 3-pointer in their semifinal, airlifted six in the second half but Wright's was the only one to fall.


Goodrich got within four twice after, but Laneville snatched three offensive rebounds - two on missed free throws and another on a putback - to keep Goodrich on the Yellowjackets' side of the court.


"I think that goes back to show you what type of young men they are," Nichols said. "They have so much heart and so much desire to win."


Nichols wears a variety of hats at Laneville. He's the elementary school principal, the transportation director and the junior high basketball coach. He never wanted the spotlight, always directing it to his players.


He choked up talking about his five seniors, who he started coaching in seventh grade and every game since. They make up five of Laneville's 2008 graduating class of 13.


"You know what makes them click," Nichols said. "There's always that tradition to uphold. As small as we are, that's always there.


"This is something they've wanted and they earned this."


The sign will prove it.