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For 3 1/2 quarters Thursday night, Lake Travis (33-6) controlled nearly every aspect of its 4A semifinal duel with Lancaster (36-2), but the wheels fell off down the stretch. After being deadlocked at 54-54 at the end of regulation, Lancaster outscored Lake Travis 10-2 in overtime to reach the state championship 64-56.
The loss ends Lake Travis’ most successful basketball season ever, but obviously one game short of the ultimate goal.
“Having the game slip away in the fourth quarter is tough,” Lake Travis senior point guard David Eads said. “But they hit their shots. All the credit goes to Lancaster.”
After leading the second-ranked Tigers for the first 31 minutes of the game, a heartbreaking bounce spelled the beginning of the end for a valiant Lake Travis basketball team.
Lancaster’s Trey Lynch’s three pointer in the closing seconds of regulation bounced high off the front rim and cleanly through the net to give the Tigers a 54-53 lead with six seconds left. Cole Vucurevich hit the second of two free throws to force overtime, but the Tigers dominated the extra session.
Vucurevich did his best to be the hero in the closing seconds, hitting a three-pointer before Lynch to put Lake Travis up 53-51. When he was fouled with 4.9 seconds left, he had a chance to hit two free throws to all but send Lake Travis to the state championship. He missed the first but hit the second, forcing overtime.
Afterwards, Vucurevich said he was realistic about his expectations heading to the charity stripe with 12,000 eyes on him. The Cavaliers end every practice by having to hit 10 free throws in a row.
“To be honest,” he said. “I can never do it…but I knew if I didn’t hit that second free throw, my career as a high school player was over.”
Jernberg said he couldn’t have asked for more.
“To be playing in front of that many people, and after missing the first one,” he said. “For him to make it says so much.”
Quite simply, it was clear the Cavs were left to take the sweet with the bitter.
That’s the way they had to look at it, after coming out hot in the first half, leading 11-7 after the first quarter and 26-22 at halftime. They did all that despite being the clear underdog to a Lancaster team that’s been expected to make the state championship since the outset of the season.
The Tigers were just 8-32 from the field in the first half, and just 2-12 from beyond the three-point line, and fell into trouble against Lake Travis’ zone defense. For much of the game, the Cavs dictated the pace, and it frustrated Lancaster.
“They had a great game plan,” Lancaster head coach Ferrin Douglas said. “They executed and made us play their game.”
Lancaster center John Bohannon, who finished the game with a triple-double, said the Tigers weren’t surprised when Lake Travis jumped out to an early lead.
“We knew they were going to be good,” he said. “You don’t get to the state tournament if you can’t play.”
Lake Travis led by 11 with 5:44 left in the third quarter, and it would prove to be their final moment of dominance in the game.
Lancaster chipped away at the Cavs’ lead from there.
Chris Dash led the Cavs with a double-double, scoring 14 and picking up 10 rebounds in the loss.
“This is the summit,” Lake Travis head coach Jan Jernberg said. “We’re so honored to be here and it’s been an incredible ride.”
Great game played by both teams, congrats to LT for playing it’s heart out, no doubt LT will be back next year.
We are so proud of these boys just being in that arena with that level of ball playing. They can walk away knowing their community, parents, family, fans, coaches, teachers, etc. are their biggest supporters and are so proud of them. We congratulate them on how far they’ve come and they can be proud of themselves for their successes!