Game MPSSAA Class 3A Regional of round Round 3

Long Reach failed to get past River Hill in two matchups during the regular season, but used a home court advantage to reach a new peak in the 73-64 victory. "I've been working at this for 24 years and it's the first time that I personally have been a region champion," Long Reach head coach Andrew Lazzor said. "The best thing is we’ve got kids from the past few years in our program when we made this turnaround, they come in the locker room and they’re part of the program. Those are the guys that started this transition. We’re getting the right kids in here and their parents are supporting us no matter what. As a father, I appreciate them. That’s the one message I said to them, ‘It feels great to win a region championship, but you aren’t anything without the people in that gym.’ It’s been a great journey.” The Lightning built up a strong lead in the middle of the contest, but a late rush by the Hawks made things interesting at the end. Ultimately, 23 points by Jayden Saunders and 22 points by Rj Barnes, both seniors, combined for an offensive threat that was tough to combat. River Hill got out in front early, using advantages on the offensive glass. One possession in the middle of the first quarter saw the Hawks grab three offensive boards before finally making a bucket, but the Lightning could not keep them off the boards. Long Reach used an 11-0 run towards the end of the first quarter to grab a 21-13 lead. Both teams traded positions in the second quarter with the Lightning getting out in front, but the Hawks putting together a late run to cut the deficit to 10 points, 41-31, at halftime. The Hawks continued to battle, getting as close as eight points near the midway point of the third quarter, but another late run by Long Reach saw the Lightning grab a 57-40 lead through three quarters. Despite the large lead, Long Reach had to stay on top of its game and for good reason. The Hawks, led by Braden Sauritch who finished with 21 points, chipped away in the final minutes to make things interesting. A clutch three made it 69-64 Long Reach with about a minute to play, but the Hawks had to foul the Lightning into the bonus. "If you noticed on the bench, I started celebrating early and [said] 'We're not celebrating early. We got to go all the way through. All the way through.' And then finally with two seconds left ... 'I think we got this,'" Lazzor said. Time ran out on the Hawks and Long Reach enjoyed a court storm by its students, reaching a new height that the program hadn't seen in 16 years. "We got talented guys, but we got to have the hard-nosed, tough dudes," Lazzor said. "I want guys that are run through that brick wall for it at any given time, and that's what this group will do. We got guys that don't touch the court right now. And they're in practice every day running, they're playing, every single day, working. So I don't have any issues. We've got 14 guys in the gym every day and they are working their butts off no issues, no concerns... I'm looking at their faces after we win this game and they're so excited for our team because they help build that every day in practice, which is huge." Long Reach will learn of its MPSSAA Class 3A State Quarterfinal opponent on Wednesday and begin preparation ahead of hosting the game on Friday at 7 p.m.