The last two seasons, Northwestern surprised Lake Clifton with late-season victories.
But in last night's Class 4A North region semifinal at Dunbar, the No. 11-ranked Lakers brought an inspired defense and shut down the No. 20 Wildcats, 45-33.
Lake Clifton will play No. 6 Southern-Baltimore for the region title tomorrow afternoon, with the winner moving to the Class 4A state semifinals a week from today at Cole Field House.
Kenny Purnell led Lake Clifton (15-6) with 12 points, and Teoine Carroll added 11. Roland Carmichael led Northwestern (13-10) with 10 points.
The last time these teams met, Carmichael, a senior guard, and senior forward Derek Pack torched Lake Clifton in the regular-season finale, scoring 24 points each in a 56-51 win at Lake Clifton.
But last night, in one of their season's best defensive performances, the Lakers frustrated the Wildcats' inside-out duo of Pack and Carmichael. Pack scored just nine points.
"We didn't play as sharp as I would like us to, but our defense covered us," said Lake Clifton coach Herman Harried. "We came out and played the scheme we wanted to play."
The Wildcats shot only 15-for-46 and committed 23 turnovers. In the third quarter of its earlier win over Lake Clifton, Northwestern scored 23 points to turn the game around.
Northwestern was within 37-29 early in the fourth quarter yesterday, but Lake Clifton shut off any further runs by the Wildcats, forcing four turnovers in six possessions and pushing the lead to 42-29 with 3: 26 remaining.
"We didn't execute at all," said Northwestern coach Doug Robertson, whose team scored six points in the third quarter last night. "Lake Clifton wanted it a little more than we did. We couldn't get our chemistry."
The Lakers' offense wasn't hitting on all cylinders, but they never allowed Northwestern to enjoy a lead and seemingly came up with a score every time the Wildcats threatened.
Lake Clifton led by 13-5 after the first quarter. Then Northwestern scored six straight before the Lakers' Purnell, a senior guard, ended the run with a three-pointer.
Pack (4-of-18) had four points in the first half and scored the first basket of the third quarter, bringing Northwestern to 27-23. But the Lakers' Carroll hit a tough jumper in the lane, and Purnell turned a Wildcats turnover into a basket for a 31-23 lead.
"We took them for granted the last time, and we didn't know about Pack and Carmichael," said Purnell, who also had three steals. "We were aware of Pack and Carmichael this time and a little more patient on offense."
Pub Date: 3/04/99