By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
At times during Lockwood’s football season, Lane Dunlap would talk with his teammates about basketball.
Dunlap, who attends Golden City High School, played football for Lockwood in a co-op program. He earned first-team all-state honors as a linebacker.
In the winter, though, he’d suit up for Golden City and play against his Lockwood teammates in basketball.
Potentially, they could have a season-on-the-line matchup in late February.
“I told them, ‘I hope we don’t have the same district. Whatever it is, I hope we don’t have the same district,’” Dunlap said. “And we did.”
In Thursday night’s Class 1 District 6 Tournament championship game, Dunlap played the role of villain to his football school.
Golden City shook off a slow start and rolled past Lockwood 65-43 at Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar. Dunlap and sophomore sharpshooter Joshua Reeves combined for 49 points in the victory.
The victory gives Golden City its third straight district championship. Before its current run, Golden City had not won a district championship in 15 years.
“These kids weren’t as excited last year as they are this year,” said Golden City coach Michael Reeves. “They’re over the moon right now. This is great for our team and community.”
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
While Golden City’s season will continue, it marked the end of the season for a Lockwood team that features many players who Dunlap teamed with in football.
“It sucks, a lot,” Dunlap said. “No matter how good of friends you are, when you take away someone’s season, they’re going to be upset. It’s one or the other. I’m glad we came out on the good end.”
Golden City will play the District 5 winner – Climax Springs or St. Elizabeth – on March 2 in a Class 1 sectional matchup. The District 5 title game is Friday night at Macks Creek High School.
Dunlap scored 24 of his 27 in the second half as Golden City methodically pulled away.
When it wasn’t Dunlap slicing through Lockwood’s 2-3 zone defense, it was Golden City sophomore Joshua Reeves crushing the Tigers from deep.
Joshua Reeves, a sophomore transfer from Clever, brought Golden City to life in the second quarter by making four 3-pointers. He finished with 22 points on six 3-pointers.
Joshua Reeves, the younger brother of Golden City’s head coach, made his presence felt right away on his new team. In Golden City’s season opener, he made seven 3-pointers.
“He was a good transfer for us,” said Michael Reeves, who played at Clever from 2005-09. “He’s a lot better shooter than I ever was.”
Thursday marked the rubber game between Golden City and Lockwood after the two teams split a pair of regular season meetings.
There was little drama after halftime.
The Eagles, who fell behind 8-0 to start the game, outscored Lockwood 42-23 in the second half.
Dunlap scored twice midway through the third quarter to put Golden City ahead 32-22 – its biggest lead to that point – and Lockwood never got within single digits again.
“They got up 8-0, I was a little nervous because of their zone (defense) and how much they were packing it in,” Reeves said. “We came out and hit some shots in the second quarter and that opened things up for us.”
Said Dunlap: “We played our game. We started out slow, we were a bit jittery. But we stuck to our game and that’s how we ended up winning.”
The Eagles also went toe-to-toe on the boards and in the paint with a bigger, taller Lockwood team.
“Lockwood’s one of the bigger teams you’ll see in the area,” Reeves said. “I feel like we’re a little bit longer, we rebound well. If we could negate their physical style, we’d be fine.”
Lockwood finishes 23-2 overall. It’s only two losses this season were to Golden City.
The Tigers were seeking their first district championship since 2017.
Golden City 65, Lockwood 43
Lockwood 8 10 9 16 — 43
Golden City 5 18 19 23 — 65
Golden City (22-4 overall) – Lane Dunlap 27, Joshua Reeves 22, Chain Parrill 13, Matt Weiser 3
Lockwod (23-2 overall) – Kane Cooper 17, Max Schnelle 8, Spencer Neal 8, Blaine Garver 5, Dylan Gallup 4, Brayden Hamilton 1
