Bulldogs dominate inside to claim title over Lanett
BY DANIEL SCHMIDT
THE LAFAYETTE SUN
LAFAYETTE — As one of the premier rivalries in East Alabama, matchups on the hardwood between LaFayette High School and Lanett High School often carry a storied legacy across generations.
The boys’ 2A Area 6 championship game proved no different as the Bulldogs’ (23-7, 6-0) forwards dominated the paint and powered a signature 65-57 home victory over the Panthers (10-13, 3-3) on Feb. 9.
While relieved with the result, LaFayette boys’ head coach Chase Lewis complimented the effort Lanett gave, especially in the fourth quarter when the Panthers made things uncomfortable at several points. Given the history between the cross-county rivals, the result was that much sweeter.
“If we do what we’re supposed to do, I feel like this chapter isn’t over against Lanett,” Lewis said. “I loved how my guys stayed in it and stayed calm. As you can tell, things get crazy in this gym and everything else. But I love all my guys. We’re together. We’ve just got to figure it out.”
Crucial to LaFayette’s success was sophomore forward Tykaden Williams. On a night when Lanett made an extra effort to keep the Bulldogs’ guards under control, his career-high 22 points turned the tide.
“It feels good. We’ve been working hard in practice, and we came out here and executed and got the win,” Williams said. “We needed the win to play at home on Saturday. When we go down there, they always give us a tough game, but when they come here, we execute and get a double-digit win.”
Ultimately, though, the night belonged to senior guard Amilleon Huguley, who was named the 2A Area 6 tournament’s most valuable player. It was somewhat of a full circle moment for the hometown star after experiencing the run to the 2024 state tournament final four as a sophomore.
“It just shows that my hard work in the offseason, during the season, everything is just paying off for me now, Huguely said. “I feel like me and my bros can go all the way. I say it all the time. We feel the exact same way and that our last game will be Feb. 28. So that’s the plan.”
On the other end of the court, Lanett boys’ head coach Trentavious McCants now has one goal after falling eight points short of the area title: just make it to Montgomery.
“I think we lost the first three and a half quarters,” McCants said. “They played some really good basketball, but my guys didn’t come out to play tonight. We showed a little fight and a little pride in the middle of the fourth quarter, but that’s a late fight. We’re going to get back to the drawing board this week.”
It was a start worthy of an area title as both defenses fiercely contested every layup and jump shots refused to fall. A late three-pointer from Huguley and powerful block by Williams in the final minute gave the Bulldogs momentum and a 13-5 lead going into the second quarter.
Smelling blood in the water, LaFayette grew their lead to 16 points by the 4:06 mark in the second quarter as the frontcourt’s physicality took a toll on Lanett. With a big lead in hand, the Bulldogs were then mostly content to dribble the ball out for most of the last two minutes.
Going into halftime down 31-15, Lanett faced admitted concerns over an occasional lack of energy in the third quarter and the chance to address them.
While the Panthers showed fight coming out of the locker room, the Bulldogs grew their lead to 40-19 within the first three minutes behind Williams’ nearly unstoppable presence in the paint. A swarming defense then helped LaFayette fend off a desperate Lanett squad that kept itself in the game with excellent free throw shooting near the end of the third quarter.
Despite being down 49-29 entering the fourth quarter, the Panthers refused to give up and took more shots behind the three-point line to catch up, with Fred Broughton quickly hitting a trey. However, the Bulldogs’ lead proved to be too much for Lanett’s full-court press to overcome, even as the Panthers put together a 28-16 run and unlikely comeback attempt.
Williams led all scorers with 22 points for the Bulldogs, and Huguley added an additional 16 points. Michael McCants paced the Panthers with 13 points, while Broughton and Jeramiah McGilberry added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
LaFayette will face the loser of the 2A Area 5 championship game between Central-Hayneville High School and Calhoun High School at home on Saturday, Feb. 14. Lanett will hit the road to face the winner of that same game, also on Feb. 14.
