State 4A consolation championship: Lakeland cools late, falls short to Jerome

MERIDIAN — At halftime, Lakeland coach Dave Stockwell told his team it needed to empty its tank.

So the Hawks did, taking a 42-31 lead after three quarters, with senior Noah Haaland scoring 9 of his 22 points in the third.

Then, just as quickly, the well ran dry.

Lakeland, which had six players play nearly 32 minutes in its previous two games, fell to Jerome 52-48 in the state 4A consolation championship game at Rocky Mountain High on Saturday, finishing the season 12-11.

“That first half, our gas tank was pretty low,” Lakeland assistant coach Tyrel Derrick said. “Coach (Dave) Stockwell said it was time to give it all you’ve got at halftime and they had to give a little more, and Noah was a big part of that.”

Jerome (23-2) outscored Lakeland 21-6 in the final eight minutes to deny the Hawks their first trophy in the 4A classification. Lakeland last brought a trophy back from state in 2001, when they finished third in 3A.

“We just kind of ran out of steam in the fourth quarter,” Derrick said. “Jerome just did a good job of doing the little things to win the game. It just felt like the last stage of a battle, and our guys slowly ran out of legs.”

Lakeland was without two starters due to discipline and another due to injury.

“We asked a lot out of our kids,” Derrick said. “This group is one of the grittiest teams I’ve been a part of. They worked hard every day and never heard one of them complain or say they couldn’t do it. As a staff, that’s all you can ask of them.”

Mikey Lloyd, who scored 24 points, gave Jerome a 48-44 lead with 1:14 remaining. Bryce Henry of Lakeland answered 10 seconds later, but the Tigers held the Hawks scoreless over the final minute.

Jerome 13 10 8 21 — 52

Lakeland 14 9 19 6 — 48

JEROME — Arevaio 3, Elson 0, Ortiz 4, Cook 15, McDonald 0, Mower 6, Lloyd 24, Blair 0. Totals 18-50 9-11 52.

LAKELAND — Hocking 2, Seay 10, Henry 9, Haaland 22, Roth 5, Waddington 0. Totals 20-42 3-4 48.