Twin Lakes surprises Lafayette Jeff, 60-51, at J&C Hoops Classic

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Twin Lakes’ boys basketball team had less than 48 hours to regroup from a lopsided J&C Hoops Classic loss to McCutcheon.

The Indians used that time to find their drive for Thursday’s consolation semifinal against host Lafayette Jeff.

“We had an edge — we had something to play for,” Twin Lakes junior guard Tyler Reddington said. “We had to prove ourselves after the last game.”

The recharged Indians defeated Lafayette Jeff for the first time in school history, pulling away in the second half for a 60-51 victory at Crawley Center.

Levi Pritts and Cameron Bennington scored 10 points apiece for Twin Lakes, which plays Hoosier Conference rival Central Catholic for fifth place on Saturday.

“It’s very special to us,” said Reddington, who hit 5 of 7 3-pointers and scored 10 of his 18 points in a pivotal third quarter. “We planned on beating them tomorrow, not tonight, but we still got the win and that means a lot, especially after our loss Tuesday night.”

Before Thursday, the Bronchos were 9-0 all-time against the Indians, including a 52-51 victory in last season’s semifinals. Jeff had won 20 straight tournament games and six straight championships coming in. But an inexperienced Bronchos team is now 0-2 in the J&C Hoops Classic for the first time and will play Benton Central for seventh place on Saturday.

“I think this means everything to us, to show our toughness and that we’re Jeff Bronchos, and we actually know what we’re doing out here,” said junior guard Quarin Hood, who led Jeff with 14 points.

“We lost a lot of scoring from last year, obviously; a lot of points, a lot of rebounds. We need to make a name for ourselves and let people know that we’re still Jeff.”

Lafayette Jeff took what Twin Lakes’ zone defense gave it early and hit six first-half 3-pointers, including three by Hood. Reddington hit a pair of 3s while scoring eight first-quarter points, and the teams went to halftime tied 22-22.

Jeff led 27-23 in the third quarter when Reddington, who shot 1-for-7 from the floor on Tuesday, found his groove.

Reddington drained 3s on three consecutive trips down the floor, scoring nine points in 57 seconds. The last one gave Twin Lakes a 32-30 advantage with 4:10 to play, and the Indians never relinquished the lead.

“He’s capable of knocking those down with very little space and very little time,” Twin Lakes coach Kent Adams said. “... He’s not going to be shy. He’s a shooter’s-mentality type of kid, and he’s going to keep believing in himself.”

Twin Lakes switched from that first-half zone to man-to-man after halftime, and the Bronchos did not adjust well. Jeff hit just 3 of 13 3s in the second half and couldn’t finish its opportunities when it got the ball inside.

Lucas Wallace’s basket late in the third quarter made it a two-point game, but Bennington followed with a long 3-pointer. Twin Lakes led 42-37 entering the fourth and by at least six the rest of the way.

“Nobody’s trying to lose; I think they want to win,” Jeff coach Scott Radeker said. “But we’ve got to get a little bit more serious in practice at times and get things figured out.

“As a coaching staff you do have to be a little patient, but there’s certain things they’re not doing right now that are unacceptable, experience or no experience.”