LANETT — It didn’t take long for the Lanett boys basketball team to get back to its winning ways after an impressive 67-59 win over LaFayette on Friday night.

“I thought our kids played well,” Lanett boys head basketball coach Richard Carter said. “They played at the kind of pace that we wanted to play at. They played like the way we’ve been trying to coach them all season.”

The Panthers came out on a run from the start, with early threes from Kristian Story, Trey Abner and Quae Houston to give the Panthers an early lead. 

Starting off the season 15-0, LaFayette has had many comeback wins this season, but could never flip the switch on Friday night.

“Our offensive shot selection wasn’t very good,” LaFayette boys head basketball coach Obadiah Threadgill said. “We played them a little too much 1-on-1. Defensively, the referees called a really tight game early, and it put us in some foul trouble early.”

Lanett showed a different rotation in the first quarter.

The Panthers made a hockey substitution at the 2:08 mark in the opening frame, as five fresh faces from Lanett got an opportunity on the floor.

“That’s what we want to do,” Carter said. “We want the guys to come in, put pressure on them to tire them down, and finish it off after that.”

The hockey substitution paid off for Lanett especially on the post, as Jayshon Burton, Tifton Dobbs and Cameron Boozer had their way once they came back in the game. Boozer put his exclamation mark on a Lanett run with a two-handed dunk that got the crowd on its feet.

“I’ve been waiting for Cameron to play like that all season long, and he did a great job,” Carter said. “He came off the bench tonight, and did what we’ve expected him to do all year long.”

Boozer finished the night with 7 points, while his brother, Zameron, added 6 points in the winning effort. Story and Burton led the Panthers with 13 points each, while Houston and Dobbs also finished in double digits. Seidron Langston, Kaylen Dunn, Abner, Larontavious Hurston also got on the board for Lanett.

Corey Boston led all Bulldog scorers, finishing with 21 points. Ke’andre Peterson and Matavais Burton each finished with 11 points. Jadarious Crim, Mekevion Shealey, Ja’Mariae Daniel and Jematheus Reese also got on the board for LaFayette.

The 15-3 Bulldogs return to the court on Tuesday to host Horseshoe Bend, while Lanett comes back today to open regional play at home against Loachapoka.