SOUTH BEND - It has been 10 years since LaVille won a regular season game against South Bend Washington at the Great Western Forum. Tuesday, the Lancers hit the road to the west side of South Bend to face the Panthers. The Lancers kept the score close for the entire game until a steal late in the fourth quarter helped LHS pick up a 51-50 victory. Washington came in with a high-octane offense. averaging 70.0 points per game and scoring more than 70 points on 13 occasions so far this season. The WHS offense came in as one of the Top 20 best offenses in the state, regardless of classification. LaVille was coming off a 75-41 loss to 2A #7 Gary 21st Century just four days prior and knew that Washington liked to play a similar style as their Gary counterparts. It was a back and forth game, with LaVille leading by four points at the end of one quarter. The Panthers converted a steal into a bucket to take a one-point lead into the intermission. Washington looked as though it might pull away, holding a seven-point lead on a pair of occasions in the third period, before closing the third frame with a 41-36 lead. LHS was chasing a seven-point spread until a 7-0 spurt tied the game at 43-43 with 2:38 left in the fourth quarter. Jaydon Lineberry hit two free throws with 51.2 seconds remaining to give the Panthers a 50-46 lead. On the next possession, Collin Czarnecki worked his way through a double screen near the top of the key and wiggled in a 3-pointer to trim the Lancer deficit to 50-49 with 27.2 second remaining. Washington then took the ball into its side of the court in an effort to either be fouled or run the clock down. However, LaVille's Lance Edison made a timely move to defend the passing lane and came up with a crucial steal near the left wing. He saw daylight in front of him and out hustled the nearest Washington defender to the rim for the go-ahead layup. Coach Ryan Varga's team then moved the ball up court to try and regain the lead, but an errant pass went out of bounds and the Lancers took possession of the ball. LaVille was fouled on the inbound pass, but missed both free throws. The South Bend hosts called its final timeout with 1.7 seconds remaining, but had to go the length of the floor in a short time. After a couple of passes, the horn sounded for the final outcome. "I thought after the previous game against Gary we kind of got in a little bit of hurry up mode," said LaVille assistant coach Jack Edison, who ran the Lancer team against Washington. "I thought that in this game (against Washington) we did choose our times to attack quickly or be patient with the ball to get as good of a shot selection as we could. That is a big factor ... (that process) was not near as close to Gary." Coach Jack Edison was pleased with the determination and fight LaVille showed in its latest challenge. "Just really proud of the way we were patient on defense," said the hall of fame Edison. "I thought we were patient and not trying to over extend or try to get too many steals and give up some backdoor plays or shots for them. Our defense and rebounding was a big key for us." According to the scouting report, LaVille knew Washington liked to push the ball and could score the ball in the half court. "The number one 3-point shooter for them was (DaKori) Parker and we tried to extend on Parker and (Stephen) Reynolds (III)," explained Jack Edison. "Reynolds has such great spin moves and the 6-7 kid (Gabe Burgin) is key for them inside. We had to defend Reynolds drives and spin moves and 10ft jumpers. He's got all the big time DI moves." The Lancers defense held the Panthers to just three field goals and 9 total points in the final stanza. They also held Reynolds 20 points under his average of 24 points. Lineberry and DaKori Parker led the Washington offense with 14 points each. Czarnecki led all scorers with 29 points, while Andre Gonzales had 10 and Lance Edison finished with 9 points. LaVille improved to 14-8 overall and will travel to Trinity Greenlawn on February 27. The junior varsity is scheduled for a 6pm start, with the varsity to follow. "The big key is if we can be patient on offense and defense against Trinity," said Jack Edison when asked about LaVille's next opponent. "We can't get a mindset of our last game (against Washington) . . . that mentality against Trinity can cause us to be impatient." LAVILLE 51, SB WASHINGTON 50 At Great Western Forum, South Bend, IN. Score By Quarters LaVille 11 25 36 51 SB Washington 7 26 41 50 LaVille - Andre Gonzales 10, Lance Edison 9, Cody Allen 0, Travis Madondo 2, Collin Czarnecki 29, Braedyn Foster 1, Avery Garrett 0. Totals: 18 8-14 51 SB Washington - Josh Johnson 2, DaKori Parker 14, Steve Reynolds 4, Mike Stuckey 2, Gabe Burgin 6, Jaydon Lineberry 14, Ashton Murrah 0, Kelin Webster 8. Totals: 19 7-12 50 3-point field goals: LaVille 4 (Czarnecki 4), SB Washington 5 (Parker 3, Webster 2) Team records: LaVille 14-8, SB Washington 16-6 Next game: LaVille v. Trinity Greenlawn at Trinity Recreation Center Feb 27, 6pm JV score: SB Washington 65 (Kemon Forbes 14), LaVille 42 (Dylan Miller 11, Kaid Hernandez 10)