LAKEVILLE - LaVille basketball coach Michael Edison knew there would be challenges ahead of his team as Winamac came to town for a Hoosier North contest. Winamac's match-up zone, being able to get the ball out in transition, and recognizing what the Warriors were in offensively each time down the floor were going to be crucial, according to Edison. In the end, Edison's club was able to put together enough runs offensively and keep together on defense to pick up a 69-55 HNAC victory over the Warriors at Dale E. Cox Gymnasium. Runs of 12-2 in the first quarter, 16-6 in the second period, and 15-6 to close the game helped the Lancers get off to a 1-0 start in the conference. Spearheading the victory was LaVille's 'big three' - Michael Good, Lucas Plummer, and Collin Czarnecki. Edison has alluded to the Czarnecki, Good, and Plummer trio a couple of times this season saying, "let's call them the big three." That comment notes that all three young men have the most appreciable amount of varsity playing experience heading into Edison's 16th season. Good started the 14-2 burst with 4 of 4 shooting from the free throw line to go with a bucket down low to give LaVille an 8-2 lead. Czarnecki added more fuel to the fire late in the quarter with a pair of deuces and a 3-pointer. Another run by the Lakeville hosts increased the lead to 33-18 with 2:03 before halftime. Good, Plummer, and Czarnecki all made contributions to extend the Lancer lead. LaVille took a 36-25 halftime lead. And just as soon as LaVille would take a double-digit lead, Winamac kept making runs of its own. The Warriors trimmed the Lancer advantage to 40-35 with 3:06 left in the third. But the Lancers closed the quarter on a 13-5 streak to send the LHS lead to 53-40 heading into the final stanza. Winamac kept battling to start the fourth quarter, but an 11-4 LaVille spurt closed up shop. "We had to keep the pedal down the entire game as Winamac did not give up and kept making nice runs," said Edison. "It seemed like everytime they made a run we were able to answer with a run of our own. I thought we played pretty good overall and it was nice to get our first conference victory." The Lancer trio combined for 56 points to lift LaVille to its highest offensive output so far this season. Good lead all scorers with 20 points. Plummer and Czarnecki knocked in 18 each for LHS. "Having all three of those guys score around 20 points each was a big key to the success we had overall," explained Edison. "Lucas shot the ball from three point range with confidence and made four of them. Michael was a force down low and Collin hit some big buckets for us. When we get all three of those guys rolling we are a lot tougher to beat as we are not one dimensional." Edison was not just pleased with the Lancer trio, he was also complimentary of several players on his roster. "Cody Allen and Braedyn Foster played really well for us even though they did not score a ton of points," said Edison. "Cody does a very nice job on defense and he took a couple of big charges. Braedyn does such a nice job passing and rebounding. Lance Edison and Andre Gonzales both came in and gave us some good minutes as well. Michael Good shot the ball from the free throw line very well and the guys all played extremely hard the entire game. It was a nice all around team effort. When asked about what he felt was the difference for his club, Edison responded, "I think the way our guys played and shot the ball with confidence. When you shoot the ball well then other things start to fall in place." Prior to the game, Edison shared his concerns about Winamac's match-up zone, taking opportunities to get up and down, and being aware of how Winamac's defense setup. "I thought we did a very nice job against their zone," Edison noted about LaVille's keys to a victory against Winamac. "Lucas was able to get a lot of nice looks from deep and capitalized on those. "We were able to get some easy buckets. Lucas did a nice job pushing the ball ahead and Collin Czarnecki was able to attack on multiple occasions. And I thought we had an attack mentality for most of the game." After the game we asked Edison who he thought was a pleasant surprise during the Winamac game. The 16th-year LaVille skipper commented about Plummer's play. "Our pleasant surprise was Lucas Plummer shooting well from three point range and playing how I know he is capable of playing," Edison said after watching his 6'3" guard hit for a season-high 20 points, just two shy of his career-best 22 back in 2022-23. LaVille defense bent but didn't break, forcing 17 Winamac turnovers. LHA dished out 19 assists and had a charge taken by Allen. The Lancers were huge on the glass, bullying its way to a 32-16 advantage. Good led the effort with 8 rebounds. Plummer, Edison, and Czarnecki hauled in 5 boards, while Foster corralled 4 rebounds. Plummer also led the sniper attack with 4 steals. Edison's crew improved to 2-1 overall and is now 1-0 in Hoosier North play. The Lancers will travel to Pioneer for a girl-boy doubleheader on December 15. Pioneer will utilize two gyms to accommodate the junior varsity and varsity games. At 6:30 p.m., the varsity girls will play in the main gym, while the junior varsity boys meet in gym #2. Then around 8 p.m., the varsity boys face off in the main gym, while the junior varsity girls tangle in gym #2. LAVILLE 69, WINAMAC 55 At Dale E. Cox, Lakeville, IN. Score By Quarters Winamac 14 25 40 55 LaVille 17 36 53 69 Winamac - Jayse Bentle 8, Will Malchow 10, Brendan Hines 12, Justin Potthoff 10, Jaybin Hines 0, Bryaden Mathis 0, Ethan Burgess 2, John Malchow 13, Maddox Bucinski 0, Ayden Jimenez 0. Totals: 19 13-18 55 LaVille - Lucas Plummer 18, Lance Edison 5, Cody Allen 4, Andre Gonsales 0, Collin Czarnecki 18, Michael Good 20, Braedyn Foster 4, Chase Lee 0, Avery Garrett 0. Totals: 24 12-20 69 3-point field goals: Winamac 4 (B. Hines 2, J. Malchow, Potthoff), LaVille 7 (Plummer 4, Czarnecki 3). Total fouls (fouled out): Winamac 16 (none), LaVille 15 (none) JV score: LaVille 37 (Jackson McNerney 10, Chase Lee 7), Winamac 49 (Jaybin Hines 15, Logan Frefel 11, Aiden Schooler 11)