Special to the Lehigh Acres Gazette by Dick Allen (Click here to see photos of the game)
The 25-1 Lightning spanked Venice 68-52 in the Region 6A-3 Florida State Boys Basketball Regional quarterfinal held on Lehigh’s home court Thursday night.
The game was played to a standing room only crowd who were treated to what Lehigh Head Coach Dawn McNew termed as “It wasn’t our best game. The good thing is it’s a win”. But you couldn’t tell that to the screaming crowd as the victory was punctuated by Lehigh’s uncanny freshman, Emmitt Williams who took a pass off the backboard and smashed down a one-handed dunk. He had a total of four dunks for the evening, each of which jacked up the crowded sending them into a frenzy. Williams had 14 points along with 10 rebounds for the night. But it was Senior Captain Abed Abu-Khadier who led the Lightning in scoring with 23 points for the evening.
The captain, grinning from ear to ear after the game told the team in a stern voice, “There was more to do. We can do something that this school has never done before”, he said.
That something continues Tuesday night In the Regional semifinal matchup between Charlotte High School and the Lehigh Lightning. The game will tip off at 7 PM at the Rick Anglickis Athletic Complex at Lehigh Senior High School. Should the lightning pass this test, they will put their 26-1 record on the line in the regional championship final. The winner there goes to Lakeland to participate in the Boys Florida State Final Four Basketball Championships.
And that’s Navigating in unchartered waters!