Fuoco: Lakeland's defense set tone in rivalry win over Winter Haven

Round one goes to Lakeland in what could end up being a three-round bout with Winter Haven.

On a scale of 1 to 10, the much-anticipated match-up between the top two boys basketball teams in Polk County this season gets a 10 in terms of intensity. In quality of play, at least offensively, well, let's just say there's room for improvement.

It was somewhat of a sloppy game, although the defensive intensity from both teams caused many of the miscues. For Lakeland, all that matters is it came away with the 54-52 victory over the its rival.

Winter Haven (18-4) went into the game ranked No. 3 in Class 6A, and Lakeland (14-1) was No. 6. Those rankings should flip now and give the Dreadnaughts the home-court advantage in the district tournament if they can maintain the advantage.

Lakeland has Bartow and Kathleen this week and Windermere in the Mosaic Stinger Classic next week.

The victory gives Lakeland fans bragging rights, and the chirping on social media began immediately after the game. Lakeland fans claimed the game wasn't as close as the final score indicated because of missed free throws. Lakeland shot 67% (12-for-18) from the free throw line, so what are we really talking about, maybe a couple of points?

On the other hand, if the teams meet again, it's unlikely that Dylan James is going to score just two points.

We all know the backstory to this game. Lakeland's top three players, Tyler Williams, Rolijah Hardy and Derajah Hardy, transferred from Winter Haven during the offseason.

"We told them, it's just another game," Lakeland coach Henderson Taylor said. "We didn't want to put too much on it. But we did feel the respect. We're 14-1 and ranked No. 25 (overall) in the state. They're 18-3 so that was the big thing. Beat them, take care of what we can take care of, and it will all fall together."

Make no mistake, however. This was more than just a game against a top team in the district.

"This was big," Williams said. "I'll be honest. I felt disrespected. They've been disrespecting us since last summer. We needed this win for the playoffs, and we'll see them in February."

That the players were amped up was evident in the relatively low scoring first quarter when Lakeland led 12-4.

What also was evident was Lakeland's defensive pressure set the tone for the game. Both teams were playing hard, but Lakeland was more effective in setting the tone.

"I preach, play our game," Taylor said. "Don't let anybody dictate the way we play."

Winter Haven was unable to capitalize on its size advantage. The Blue Devils' outside shooting was off, but they continued taking shots from outside.

"Our advantage is our size," Winter Haven coach Tyrone Woodside said. "We have to pound it. It will be like having a 300-pound offensive line, and you're throwing it around."

Woodside said his team had been shooting well from the outside.

Lakeland kept jumping out to small leads of seven to nine points, and Winter Haven kept reeling in the Dreadnaughts to make it a two- or three-point game.

"We were really sloppy," said Woodside, whose team trailed 25-18 at halftime. "I think we outplayed them in the second half, but we dug a little bit of a hole and kind of ran out of time. It was uncharacteristic, but that's the reason they're 14-1. They make the game uncharacteristic."

Of the big three, Rolijah Hardy scored 18 points to lead the Dreadnaughts. Derajah Hardy scored 11 points, and Williams scored 10 points. Lakeland also got 13 points from Kamaurri McKinley.

Winter Haven countered with Isaac Celiscar's game-high 20 points and Jamie Phillips' 12 points.

Tyrese Mayo nearly made up for James' poor-shooting game by scoring 12 points, including eight points in the fourth quarter.

As expected, the game went down to the wire. Mayo's 3-pointer made it 51-49 with 19.8 seconds left.

After Williams missed two free throws with 16.4 seconds left, Winter Haven had possession to take the lead but never got a shot off.

An unforced turnover followed by two clutch free throws by Derajah Hardy with 8.5 seconds left sealed the victory for the Dreadnaughts.

This could be the first of two or three meetings this year if the teams meet in the district tournament then again in the playoffs — all strong possibilities. If they meet again, the intensity will remain high, but I'd expect both teams to play with more composure too. And it still will be too close to call in determining the favorite.

For now, however, the Dreadnaughts have the bragging rights and have the Blue Devils looking up.

Roy Fuoco can be reached at roy.fuoco@theledger.com or at 863-802-7526. Follow him on Twitter: @RoyFuoco.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Fuoco: Lakeland's defense set tone in rivalry win over Winter Haven