BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
The largest lead either team enjoyed through the first three quarters was three points, but Williston went on an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter as the Lake Butler Middle School boys basketball team lost 43-30 to finish as the Suwannee Middle Athletic Conference runner-up on Jan. 26 in Interlachen.
Lake Butler entered the game off a 36-27 semifinal win over P.K. Yonge on Jan. 24. Trent Nash made two three-pointers and finished with a team-high 10 points. Jackson Andersen-Davis and R.J. Odom had nine and eight points, respectively, while the Tigers also got five points from Tyrese Chandler and two points each from A.J. Chandler and Garrison Smith.
The championship game got off to a ragged start as turnovers and cold shooting plagued both teams. A three-pointer by Smith sent the Tigers into the second quarter leading 5-4.
Williston made two free throws to retake the lead early in the second quarter, but Lake Butler got it right back when Anthony Wiseman scored off an Odom assist to make the score 7-6.
After a Smith basket off his own steal put the Tigers, Williston made two straight baskets. However, Lake Butler closed the half with two straight of their own — both in the final minute. Smith took a pass from Odom and knocked down a three-pointer. Odom then sank a mid-range jumper before the buzzer to send the Tigers into halftime leading 14-12.
Smith made his third three-pointer of the game to give Lake Butler a 17-14 lead early in the third quarter. With the game later tied, Tyrese Chandler scored off a rebound putback to make it 19-17. Odom, after a defensive rebound by Wiseman, scored on a runout to give the Tigers a four-point lead.
Unfortunately, Lake Butler couldn’t build on its lead during a stretch in which Williston went 0 for 4 from the field and 0 for 2 from the foul line. Williston eventually retook the lead off two free throws and a three-pointer. A Smith pass led to a Nash layup and a 23-22 Lake Butler lead.
Nash later scored off an offensive rebound to put the Tigers up 25-23, but Williston made a three-pointer, which left Lake Butler trailing by one point entering the fourth quarter.
Williston scored the first points of the final quarter off a baseline drive, but A.J. Chandler answered with one of his own, keeping it a one-point game. After a backcourt turnover led to a Williston bucket, Wiseman was fouled driving to the basket. He made 1 of 2 free throws, making the score 30-28 in favor of Williston.
A wide-open three-pointer was the start of an 11-0 Williston run. Lake Butler finally put more points on the board on a drive to the basket by Odom with 1:38 to play, but that left the Tigers trailing by 11. Williston added another basket for the 43-30 final.
Smith finished with 11 points, while the Tigers also got six points from Odom, five points from Wiseman, four points from Nash and two points each from A.J. Chandler and Tyrese Chandler.
Also making up the Lake Butler roster by season’s end were Cole Fillyaw, Jayden Griffis, Cadenz Merriex, Darrell Merriex, Aiden Mitchell and Gavin Smith.
