Lakewood boys fall to Tigers

It had to happen to somebody. Granite Falls rode a hot streak against Lakewood to win its first Cascade Conference contest in two years.

GRANITE FALLS — It had to happen to somebody.

Granite Falls rode a hot streak against Lakewood to win its first Cascade Conference contest in two years.

“We’re in the history books — just not for the right reason,” said Lakewood coach Matt Hart after his boys lost 71-64.

The Tigers used eight second-half 3-pointers to fuel an improbable 46-19 comeback.

The Cougars couldn’t have felt better than they did leaving the court with a 35-25 lead at halftime. They looked to have a firm grasp on the game tempo, and put an exclamation on a dominating first half when senior Tre Haslom stepped by a Granite Falls defender for a dunk as time expired.

“We had a great first half,” said Hart. “And we talked about keeping it up in the locker room, but we just came out flat.”

The Cougars became passive early on in the second half and Granite Falls took advantage, opening the third quarter on a 10-3 run before eventually taking a 44-42 lead at its conclusion.

Despite 17 points from Haslom in the fourth quarter, Lakewood still couldn’t keep up with Granite Falls’ torrid pace. The Tigers passed around a lax Cougars zone to the tune of 27 points, fueled by four treys.

Haslom finished with a game-high 21 points while Dustin Stanton added nine.