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Defense still wins high school basketball games. During the area tournament, host Lanett knocked off Reeltown 41-29 thanks to an incredible second-half defensive performance. Here’s the primary example of how the Panthers clawed back from a double-digit deficit to win.

After combining for 17 first-half points, Reeltown’s Finn Henderson and Demetrius Brown were harassed on hard closeouts and rarely had a good look at the rim. They combined to hit five 3-point shots in the first half but Lanett learned its lesson. The second stanza was a totally different story. 

Henderson did not score again and Brown added only one bucket. Play after play, a combination of Lanett’s half-court trap and 3-2 zone defense, did a tremendous job of getting a hand up to make Reeltown shooters rush their shots. Here’s the second and final point fans should know about this contest.

Leading 24-12 with 6:01 in the third quarter, Reeltown scored just five more points for the rest of the game. Lanett’s defense was off the charts. Hats off to every member of the team for playing relentless defense when it mattered most. Lanett needed to play great defense because its shooters were ice-cold.

In fact, Lanett did not score a single point in the second quarter. Yes, you read that correctly. At halftime, Reeltown led 22 to 12 after leading 14-12 after the first quarter. It could have been far worse if not for Lanett changing its second quarter defensive strategy.

Instead of packing it in the paint and giving open looks from beyond the 3-point arc, Lanett challenged just about every shot. That led to some excellent fast-break opportunities and rebound buckets.

When the Lanett offense did its best work, big man Jeremiah Gillberry was getting touches in the paint. He scored the team’s first six points of the ball game to keep it close early on. After that, it was about Lanett attacking the rim late in the game and getting to the free-throw line.

Lanett scored 11 of its 15 fourth-quarter points from the charity stripe. The overall defense was the catalyst, but credit Lanett’s players for persevering through a tough shooting night to find enough points to win.

Lanett’s top scorers were McGillberry with 9, Reiontae Zeigler with 9, Shamar Patterson with 8, and Lorenzo Truitt with 5.