For the Daily Journal
One word described Edinburgh’s start in its semifinal game against Indianapolis Lutheran — flat.
The host Lancers committed several turnovers early on, fell behind by double digits by the second quarter and couldn’t recover in a 64-48 boys basketball loss.
“We had five to six possessions in a row where we turned the ball over. We just got to take care of the ball better,” Edinburgh coach Keith Witty said. “Looking back at the first quarter, we only gave up 11 points. It was not like we were out of it. The problem is we took about only four or five shots and committed too many turnovers.”
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After Hunter Dean gave the Lancers (4-6) their only lead with a quick basket to start the game, the Saints then scored the final 11 points of the first quarter to go up by nine.
Lutheran (2-4) extended the lead to 15-2 early in the second quarter until a Bryce Burton basket ended the run by the Saints. From there, Edinburgh couldn’t put together a scoring run to cut the deficit.
It got worse when Layton Dickey hit a 3-pointer in the closing seconds to give Lutheran a 34-15 halftime lead.
Edinburgh seniors Burton and Coltan Henderson led the charge in the third quarter. Henderson hit two 3-point shots early on that accounted for his only points in the game, and Burton scored eight of his team-high 14 points in the third quarter. However, every time the Lancers converted a third-quarter basket, the Saints responded with one of their own.
Edinburgh trailed 52-37 heading into the fourth quarter and trailed by double digits the rest of the way.
Darius Bennett and Jordan Myers each finished with eight points for the Lancers.
“Bryce was the one that actually stepped up and took the challenge a little bit. He’s capable of getting to the rim and finishing,” Witty said of Burton. “Unfortunately, in those stretches of the game that we did score, we gave up a bucket at the other end.”
Edinburgh will be in the third-place game at 6 p.m. today against Hagerstown.
“It’s nice that we will be staying home and not have to be on the road,” Witty said. “We have to approach each game ready to play and see what happens.”
In Edinburgh’s opening round game against Christel House Academy, the Lancers won in a 63-16 rout.
Eleven different players ended up scoring in the game. Bennett, Tyson Sackman and Travis Jones all finished with eight points.