WILDWOOD • The MICDS and Lafayette boys basketball teams were both lethargic Wednesday night in a non-conference showdown.
In the end, though, it was the host Lancers who came alive at the right time and held on for a 57-44 victory.
"This kind of had a slow pace to it," Lafayette coach Scott Allen said. "We have some guys under the weather and I know they have some, too. We made a run at the end to seal it, but it was back and forth."
Nick Messer pumped in a game-high 21 points as the Lancers improved to 12-7.
"I think the key was our defense," Messer said. "We pulled together and hit some big shots down the stretch. We have a lot of guys who can put the ball in the hole. The last two nights, it's just been me. We have a lot of confidence in each other."
The loss dropped MICDS to 12-7. Michael Scherer, who signed to play football at Missouri earlier Wednesday, led the Rams with 13 points, while Rashad Lindsey added 12.
Messer got rolling in the second quarter when he knocked down two of his five 3-pointers and Lafayette went into halftime up 23-18.
The Lancers extended the lead in the third quarter thanks to a Joel Pennington 3-pointer and a Luke Kreienkamp bucket off a one-handed pass from Pennington that made it 35-26.
MICDS made a comeback in the fourth quarter when buckets from Scherer and Robin Thompson cut Lafayette's lead to 45-40 with 4:07 to play.
But Messer buried his fifth 3-pointer and scored again on a layup and Pennington then scored on a conventional 3-point play to make it 53-40 with 1:41 to play.
"We got a couple of stops and our guys gutted through it," Allen said. "Both teams were a little gassed at the end.
Lafayette will travel to Northwest on Friday, while MICDS faces rival John Burroughs at Washington University on Saturday.
"We had a rough week last week at the Ameritime and I really like how they bounced back," Allen said. "Our guys seem like they can forget the losses and move forward."
Messer, who scored 26 points in a win over Francis Howell on Monday, thinks the Lancers can dial it up for the final push of the regular season.
"We're coming down the stretch and we're going to be playing a lot of games every week," Messer added. "I think now is a good time to turn it on and get focused up."
