Panthers Edge Dragons On Late Heroics

At the beginning of the season, first-year Lake Placid coach David Veley wasn't seeing the amount of effort he wanted out of his team while trying to implement a new system.

That was nowhere near the case on Friday night.

The Green Dragons fought and clawed their way back from a seven-point deficit with 2:30 remaining to go up one point on a steal an inbound by Andre Wilson with 13 seconds on the clock.

"We got that steal and made that score, and I thought, this might be our night," said Veley, who watched helplessly as Mulberry's Lee Amos scored two of his 37 points - the game winner - to lead the Panthers to a 71-70 rollercoaster victory in the semifinals of the Class 3A-District 10 tournament.

Wilson and senior Avery Young each had 18 points to lead Lake Placid, while senior Trevalier Sholtz added a gutsy 17 points in his final game in green.

The Dragons fell behind 11-2 in the opening minutes and came back to tie the game at 18 after the first quarter. LP led by four at the half and kept the lead until midway through the third when Veley says calls suddenly started going in unfortunate direction for the Dragons.

"We had four phantom turnovers where there was just, 'no way,'" Veley said. "Trevalier was playing huge and he picked a foul where one ref was trying to talk the other one out of it."

Sholtz fouled out early in the fourth, but the Dragons rallied and kept it close until the final ticks, something Veley said was important for his young team to experience despite the loss.

"We talked about how proud we were of how they fought and scrapped," Veley said. "They kept getting after them, never quit and stayed positive.

"We've had so many close games with young guys handing the ball, and that can be a tough situation. But it will pay dividends down the line."