Photo by Emily Daniels Lakeview’s Carter Louwagie puts up a shot during their game against Heron Lake-Okabena on Friday. The Lakers defeated the Wildcats 63-49.

MINNEOTA – The Lakeview boys basketball team entered the Candy Cane Classic looking to get in the winning spirits as the Lakers took on Heron Lake-Okabena on Friday. After a tight first half, the Lakers used a key push in the second half on their way to a 63-49 victory over the Wildcats.

The Lakers got the first half going on the floor as they went on a six-point run that brought them to a 6-2 lead right away and continued to fight for that lead as they extended it to an 11-4 advantage early. Lakeview found its success right away underneath the basket with second-chance opportunities, as the Lakers’ ability to collect rebounds and convert it into points was the team’s biggest and most important asset to begin the game.

The Wildcats were able to catch up a little and start to play at the same level as Lakeview, bringing the score to 15-13 with 9:14 left to play in the first half. HLO found an opportunity to take the lead away from the Lakers and put itself in front with a 19-17 lead with 8:37 remaining on the clock. After the Wildcats took the lead, both teams found themselves exchanging the lead back and forth from each other and ended up in a 21-21 tie with 3:30 left to play in the first half. The fight for the lead continued and neither team could take a steady lead, but the Wildcats found a 27-25 advantage but couldn’t hold on as the Lakers came back and tied it up at 27-27 going into halftime.

Coming back into the second half, the Wildcats took their first opportunity and claimed a 28-27 lead right away before pushing their lead to as many as four at 33-29 with 15:24 left to play in the game. The Lakers didn’t stop playing aggressive, however, and continued to take every shot opportunity that came their way. With the help of Parker Hoffman, Lakeview found its way back on top with a small 34-33 lead before the two teams found themselves tied once again at 37-37 with 12:20 left to play.

The Lakers and Wildcats’ aggressive mentality on both sides of the floor continued to show as neither side allowed each other to gain any momentum. With both teams in need of a spark, it was the Lakers who found it first and began to pull away with a 42-37 lead, as they fought for every basket they came across. Tyler Imes was a big contributor to the way Lakeview moved on either side of the floor, creating shot opportunities and finding the open teammate on the court.

The Wildcats caught on to the strengths of the Lakers offense and started to read passes and create turnovers. On the offensive end, HLO closed the gap to just two points at 44-42 with 8:08 remaining but the Lakers quickly responded with a pair of baskets to take a six-point lead at 48-42 just a minute later. Lakeview continued to use its strengths on the offensive end and took a 53-46 lead with 4:53 left on the clock and held off the Wildcats the rest of the way to earn the 63-49 victory.

No stats were available at press time.

The Lakers will be back in action today at noon as they take on the Minneota Vikings in the championship game of the tournament.