The Lake Clifton boys basketball team comes to play with no secrets.
The No. 2 Lakers challenge opponents to beat their zone defense, are sure to clean up on the boards and patiently take what is given to them on offense. They love to play together and grind out wins.
It showed in Tuesday's Baltimore City Division I championship game against No. 3 Patterson.
The Lakers shut down the Clippers' potent attack for three-plus quarters and then fended off a late rally, getting a balanced performance on offense to come away with a 58-52 win at Morgan State's Hill Field House for the program's fourth city title and first since 2009.
Senior forward Joshua Parks scored a team-high 19 points, and three other Lakers (21-2) reached double figures. But it was their team defense — a 3-2 zone that frustrated the Clippers most of the game — that proved the difference. A minute into the fourth quarter, the Lakers had limited the Clippers (18-5) to just 26 points.
"We just stuck to the game plan the way coach [Herman "Tree" Harried} asked us to, and defense was the key to winning. We executed and pulled out the win," Parks said. "We've got good chemistry, it's a brotherhood, we've been playing together since we're like 13 [years old], so we all know what our strengths and weaknesses are. So we know things to do and things not to do and stuck to the game plan.
"This is wonderful. I worked hard for it, my team worked hard for it and we earned the win."
The Lakers attacked the basket and got to the foul line to build a 40-26 lead with just less than seven minutes to play. The Clippers tried to penetrate with no success, and they weren't hitting from the outside either until standout point guard Dereck Oliver (game-high 21 points) found his range as Patterson made a significant push.
Oliver made three 3-pointers and then fellow senior Tyquan Pointer hit consecutive 3s — he converted the first into a four-point play — and suddenly the Clippers were within 47-42 with 3:43 to play.
But the Lakers had an answer, regularly beating the Clippers' press to score easy baskets and hit free throws to pull away. Senior forward Rashad Hawkins added 13 points, and Gary Jefferson and Derrick Green both had 12.
"That's what it came down to — effort," Harried said. "Patterson fought, they never gave in. We just fought a little harder and played team basketball. We just did what we needed to do as a group, and everybody brought something in the area they bring it. We just played hard and we defended."
Scoring hasn't been a problem for Patterson much this season. The Clippers have reached 70 or more points eight games and topped out at 86. On Tuesday, nothing came easy as they never got an easy basket in transition. They struggled to work their way to the basket through the Lakers' zone and weren't finding the mark from the outside until it was too late.
"You would think we never saw a 3-2 zone," Patterson coach Harry Martin said. "They're just solid across the board, especially down low, where they outperformed us. I don't think they did anything particularly special, they sat back in a 3-2 and if you don't hit shots, we're not going to win games or deserve to wins games."
The teams split two games in the regular season with the new schedule format that featured each team playing home and away. Patterson claimed a 55-46 home win Dec. 19 before the Lakers protected their home court with a 58-54 win Jan. 30.