Laurel’s time clock struck midnight. Boys head basketball coach Marcus Price explained the phrase late Tuesday night.
“This group was a different group than the one we’ve had in the past,” Price said. “It was like Cinderella at the Ball. We were hoping the clock didn’t strike 12, but it finally caught us. But it is what it is.”
Laurel’s season ended prematurely when measured against the length of its postseason runs over the past several years, including many trips to “The Big House.” The Tornadoes fell to Wingfield 65-61 in the first round of the MHSAA Class 5A playoffs.
Wingfield, who entered the game 13-14 overall, was better than their record suggested. Price agreed.
“Hats off to Wingfield,” said Price. “Coach came in with a good game plan, and they did what they were supposed to do. They played a tough schedule during the regular season. They played all the Jackson teams, and that is what we typically do. That helps prepare us for these type of situations.”
Laurel hasn’t had an exit quite like this since Price took over the program in 2013.
“All things considered, we have to eat it,” said Price. “We have to own it if we want to live up to the Tornado standard. There are certain things we have to do all the time, and we didn’t do those things tonight. We didn’t play as hard as we normally play. We didn’t get after people. We didn’t go after those loose balls – all those things that determine whether you win or lose in the postseason. Wingfield did, and therefore they deserved to win.”
Wingfield came out torching the basket. Laurel played flat. Four minutes into the contest, Laurel was still looking for its first basket, while Wingfield held an 11-0 lead.
“That was my fault,” said Price regarding the opening minutes. “I changed the lineup based on trying to think our lineup based on the postseason. It got us out of rhythm. But we were flat. We put three different groups [in the game], and everybody was flat.”
Laurel trailed by as many as 15 points (45-30) with two minutes to go in the third period. They cut Wingfield’s lead to nine at the end of the period and continued to do so in the fourth. With a minute left in the game, Laurel was within one of Wingfield, 60-59. Then came the turnovers.
“I actually played our younger guys, and they got us back into the game,” said Price. “My gut said to go back with our older guys, who have gotten us here all year and give them the opportunity to finish it out, but hindsight is 20/20. I probably should have let our younger guys finish. But like I said, this was a senior-laden team and guys who had been with us for quite some time so I did give them the opportunity to go in and finish the game out. We didn’t get it done.”
Wingfield standout Damarion Arrington led all scorers with 23 points. Junior Antwan Hatten led Laurel with 13 points.
Laurel finishes the 2018-2019 season, 16-8.
