STEVE GOLDMAN
SAYBROOK TOWNSHIP — Followers of the Lakeside boys have come to expect big things from Emelio Parks.
On Tuesday, the junior center didn’t disappoint, as he was a terror on the inside. He put in 31 points — more than half his team’s total — and added seven rebounds, as the Dragons turned back visiting Riverside, 60-52, in the Premier Athletic Conference opener for both schools.
Lakeside (4-0, 1-0) jumped to a 22-4 lead early in the second quarter, saw the Beavers (1-3, 0-1) slice the deficit to one point and then recovered. Parks played a major role both early and late, as he put in 14 points in the initial nine minutes and then 15 in the game’s final 10 minutes.
“Emilio really played a nice game, I think, rebounding and scoring,” Lakeside coach Rob Pisano said.
“He played a great game,” Riverside coach Rob Winton said. “Very, very good shooting touch.”
Ace Jones added 20 points for the Dragons, while Fred Spikes dished out seven assists.
Riverside (five of its seven 3-pointers in the second half), closed to 35-29 late in the third period. But Parks scored the rest of his team’s seven points in the quarter, staking Lakeside to a 42-33 lead.
The Beavers went on an 8-0 run, slicing it to 42-41. However, after a layup by Steve Luoma (4 assists), Parks and Jones did the rest of Lakeside’s scoring, and eventually the Dragons ran off the contest’s final six points, beginning with a one-and-one by Parks, in the final 50 seconds to extend a 54-52 edge.
“(We were) not ready to play,” Winton said of the poor start. “After being at Mentor and being at Harvey, I just was dumbfounded that we weren’t ready to play.”
“We need to just keep harping to these guys about staying focused and staying fundamentally sound for four quarters,” Pisano said.
The Dragons shot 54.5 percent from the floor. The Beavers missed six of their nine free throws.
Mike Debalski (10 points), Andrew Tompkins (9 points, 9 rebounds, 5 steals), L.T. Smith (8 points), Shawn McClure (9 points) and Mycheal Delano (8 points) were the top scorers for Riverside.
Goldman is a freelance writer for South Euclid.
