EDINBURGH — The Edinburgh boys basketball could not keep up with the fast-paced of play in the opening minutes of Friday night’s Edinburgh Sectional semifinal game.
Indianapolis Arlington took advantage by jumping out to a very early lead, and Edinburgh was never able to recover in a 79-39 defeat.
It was the final game for Lancer seniors Bobby Simpson, Christian Burton, Marcus Ruch and Kyle Pendleton, who was lost for the season due to injury. There was plenty of emotion once the final buzzer sounded.
“They put in a lot of time with basketball being a long season and then the offseason work dating all the way back to second grade,” Edinburgh coach Drew Glentzer said. “They invested a lot of time in this. Once you realize that it is done, a lot of things go through your head. I’ve been with these guys through the good times and the bad.”
Even with key losses, Glentzer will have a young nucleus returning next season.
“We have a really nice group of kids coming back,” Glentzer said. “This year, we were plagued by injury. Sometimes getting beat like we did tonight gives us an idea where we are at. Arlington is a very good team with a chance at getting to state.”
The quick play of the Golden Knights (19-5) allowed them to jump out to a 24-6 lead in the opening six minutes of play, and they led the game from wire to wire.
The pace was much slower in the second quarter, but the Lancers (4-20) were unable to pick apart the Golden Knights’ defense, scoring just five points in the period. Arlington executed well offensively, building a 42-11 halftime lead.
The second half went much better for the Lancers, but the damage had already been done. The Lancers pulled out their biggest rally of the game late in the third quarter when Jacob Atha scored a basket to cap off a 7-4 run — but they still trailed big, 60-24.
The Golden Knights went on a 14-2 run during the fourth quarter, causing both teams to empty their benches.
Atha led the Lancers with a game-high 18 points. Burton finished with eight points and Simpson added seven.
The Golden Knights were led by DeJuan Wortham with 14 points, while Payton Ross and Ryan Williams each collected 13 points.
