By Wayne E. Rivet

Staff Writer

PORTLAND — Derek Langadas was up for the challenge.

Drawing the defensive assignment to guard Mountain Valley’s top scorer, junior center Cooper Davis, Langadas knew what he gave up in height (he’s 5 inches shorter) he would make up in physicality.

“He’s pretty big (6-foot-8), so I had to be aggressive. Try to get under his skin a little,” the Laker senior said. “We wanted to come out with a lot of intensity.”

The Lakers were intense.

They were focused.

And, they out played fourth-ranked Mountain Valley at both ends of the court, nearly from start to finish.

Be it crashing the boards (LR had a 10 rebound advantage over the Falcons) or diving for loose balls, the Lakers oozed with energy and determination as they crushed MV 60-37 in the Class B South quarterfinals last Friday night at the Portland Expo.

Junior Evan Willey sparked the Lakers with a 26 point and 11 rebound night.

His center counterpart, Davis, was high scorer for the Falcons with 14 points as Langadas and Willey held the MV big man below his season average (21 points per game).

“We won the rebounding battle (which was something we talked about) and also gave ourselves second and third chances. We did a great job crashing for offensive rebounds,” Lake Region Coach Ryan Martin said. “Derek guarded him (Cooper) in the summer league. Derek’s a physical player and he did a great job. He was the aggressor, and it’s the type of game Derek is comfortable in playing.”

Comfortable summed up the Lakers’ opening quarter as they stunned the Falcons with an 11-0 run to start the game. Jacob Stone and Willey drained 3-pointers, while Langadas put up three points the old-fashioned way with a strong drive to the rim, followed up with a foul shot.

LR was hot, firing at a 6-for-10 clip from the field to build an 18-6 lead after one quarter. MV finally broke through with 2:39 left on a Davis inside bucket.

“I think playing at Fryeburg (in the open-ended gym) helped us here tonight. We were disciplined and patient. There may have been just two or three bad shots we took all game. That’s something we’ve worked hard at all year long. They did a good job with that tonight,” Coach Martin said. “Our defensive energy was outstanding. Mountain Valley struggled, but I credit that to on how hard we were playing. We talked on defense, kept high hands.”

Forward Liam Grass also figured in the quick start, scoring 5 of his 7 points in the opening frame on aggressive play inside the paint.

One bugaboo for the Lakers all season has been fast starts then a scoring drought. While LR cooled from the field in the second quarter, connecting on just 3-of-10 attempts, their quick takes to the rim prevented the Falcons from rallying. LR went to the foul line 12 times, and made 8 shots to hold a 32-21 lead at halftime.

MV had no real answer for Willey as he shot over smaller guards trying to defend him out on the perimeter. He also shook free going to the rim as teammates delivered well placed balls for an easy bucket and a chance to go to the foul line. Willey scored 8 of the Lakers’ 14 points.

“We had some lapses, which allowed them to get back into the game. They’re a tough team. But, I liked how we stuck to it after they made their run. We did a good job responding. A good team like Mountain Valley, you know the game is never over. You need to keep playing. We knew they would go on runs, so the question was how would we respond?” Coach Martin said.

“They cut it a little close, but we kept our heads in it,” Langadas said. “We tried to not worry about the score too much, but more on what we were doing.”

In the third, LR struggled with turnovers — eight — but Willey kept his club ahead with a pair of 3-pointers, none bigger than a buzzer beater to put the Lakers up 42-27 entering the fourth.

Not only did the deep shot from downtown add points to the lead, the trey was somewhat of a knockout punch.

Mr. Hustle — senior Isaac Holland — re-ignited the Lakers by tipping the ball away from a MV player. The ball landed in the hands of Willey, who quickly pulled the trigger to beat the clock.

“That was fun. I wasn’t planning on taking an NBA 3, but I did and it went in. It fired us up. The bench was screaming. It got everyone energized,” Willey said.

Holland’s gritty play kept Mountain Valley from finding any rhythm.

“We all know that when Isaac enters the game, he brings a ton of energy, both on offense and defense,” Coach Martin said. “He is so consistent with that. He’s a guy you need on your team.”

Willey’s dagger put an added bounce in the Lakers’ steps over the final eight minutes. Three-pointers by Noah Duprey and Willey pushed the lead to 20, and the Lakers never took their foot off the gas. LR closed out the game with an 18-10 run, including another 3-ball by Duprey from the right corner with 2:15 left to make it 54-31.

As the final seconds ticked off the clock, the two big men — Willey and Davis — knocked down the final shots.

While Willey enjoyed the win, he also liked what he saw from Davis. Why? They are AAU teammates.

“I know him pretty well. It’s fun to play against each other. He’s improved a lot. Before, he was a true big man and stayed near the basket, now he’s out there shooting. I hope he brings that to our AAU team,” Willey said.

On this night, it was Willey’s play that stole the spotlight.

The attention quickly turned to Maranacook.

“We’ve put together two pretty good games in a row. The guys are fired up and having fun. They’re being patient on offense and playing with energy on defense. It’s a fun team to be a part of and watch. We’re clicking right now,” Coach Martin said. “We need to be ready for whatever they (Maranacook) throw at us — be strong with the basketball and make good decisions. If we limit our turnovers, we’ll be right in the game.”