Lance Jeter Update

[Captain Kangaroo]

Beaver Falls guard does it again By John GruppTRIBUNE-REVIEWThursday, March 23, 2006As far as game-winning shots by Lance Jeter go, this one was fairly ho-hum.Jeter hit a free throw with 3.2 seconds to play to give defending state champion Beaver Falls a 71-70 victory over Quaker Valley in the PIAA Class AA semifinals at Palumbo Center on Wednesday night."That," he said, "was the easiest one."The foul shot, which capped an 11-point, fourth-quarter comeback, added to Jeter's growing legacy of huge playoff baskets, including two in wins over Aliquippa on the way to last year's PIAA Class AA title.So, when Quaker Valley senior forward Ryann Bradford made one of two free throws to tie the score at 70 with 8.6 seconds to play, everyone in the nearly packed Palumbo Center knew who was going to try to win it for Beaver Falls (27-4).But before Jeter could even get to mid-court, Quaker Valley senior guard Amir Johnson was called for a foul while going for a steal against the Beaver Falls star."He tried to make a play for his team because he's the captain," Jeter said. "You can't blame him for that."With coaches from Akron -- one of the schools recruiting Jeter -- looking on, Jeter missed the first free throw. But he stepped back, got a few words of encouragement from his teammates and calmly swished the next one for a one-point lead with 3.2 seconds to play.The game ended when Johnson missed a desperation half-court shot at the buzzer.The exuberant Beaver Falls cheering section celebrated the return trip to the PIAA Class AA final by launching a cascade of Hershey's Kisses, chocolate bars and even a half-eaten Milky Way onto the Palumbo Center floor. Beaver Falls scooped up the goodies, as the players were showered with the treats."When the game is on the line, the ball seems to find its way into his hands, and every time the kid comes through," Beaver Falls coach Doug Biega said. "There was no doubt in my mind that Lance was going to make that shot."Jeter finished with a game-high 31 points. Senior guard Jack Anderson scored 20 of his 24 points in the second half, including a 3-pointer with 16.2 seconds to play, as Beaver Falls overcame a 61-50 fourth-quarter deficit."Jeter wants the ball at the end of the game," Quaker Valley coach Tom Demko said. "Great players want the ball at the end of the game, and they make plays."Johnson scored 20 points for the Quakers (23-8). Ryan Courneen added 19, and Ryann Bradford 14.Beaver Falls will try to become the first team to win back-to-back PIAA Class AA titles since 1979 when the Tigers play Penn Charter (27-5) at 2 p.m. Saturday at Giant Center. Penn Charter, the third-place team from the Philadelphia public school league, defeated York Catholic, 56-53, in the Eastern final.Quaker Valley, trying to reach the state finals for the first time since 1999, showed more desire and energy in the first half and led, 16-9, after one quarter. By the time a 16-0 run was finished with 5:50 to play in the second quarter, Quaker Valley (23-8) led, 24-9. Beaver Falls cut the deficit to 37-27 at halftime, and then opened the second half on a 14-4 run to tie the score at 41. Quaker Valley answered with a 20-9 run and led, 61-50, after Courneen's 3-pointer with 7:01 to play.Beaver Falls trailed, 68-63, with 1:45 left, but Jeter scored a bucket and freshman Todd Thomas scored his first basket of the game to make it 68-67. With Quaker Valley leading, 69-67, Anderson hit a 3-pointer to make it 70-69. Bradford's free throw with 8.6 seconds to play set the stage for another Jeter game-winner."Sometimes it goes their way; Sometimes it doesn't," Jeter said. "Fortunately, it goes my way most every time I get the chance."

[Blue & Gold]

Definitely sounds like a winner! Any inside word as to whether he's close to signing?

[Captain Kangaroo]

Latest on Jeter:Now that Lance Jeter has qualified for freshman eligibility, the Beaver Falls' two-sport star is receiving interest from Akron, Detroit, George Mason, Marquette and Purdue for basketball and Cincinnati for football.The 6-foot-3, 200-pound all-state receiver, who was selected for the Big 33 Football Classic and is gaining Division I football interest, said he is leaning toward playing basketball in college."If that's the best opportunity to come around, that's what I'm going to do," Jeter said Thursday. "A lot more schools have come to see me since I qualified. It feels good to have that off my shoulders. Now, I can relax and worry about leading my team to a championship."

[Captain Kangaroo]

High School Views: For Beaver Falls, Jeter was Mr. ClutchTuesday, March 28, 2006By Colin DunlapThe clock was winding down, the final few seconds were all that was left in the brilliant career of Beaver Falls senior guard Lance Jeter.For Jeter is a sort of paradox. He's nimble but bullishly strong. He's a great kid off the floor, but the kind of ferocious competitor on it that makes a person cringe at times. In fact, he finished his high school career as the 13th all-time leading scorer with 2,243 points.But most of all, he is unselfish, although when he needs to be, when his team calls for it, Jeter can be as selfish as a little bratty kid who hordes all the candy at Halloween.Against Quaker Valley in the PIAA Class AA semifinal last Wednesday, we saw all sides of Lance Jeter.And the constant that has been the calling card of this splendid young athlete shone through again.For it was Jeter who had the ball in his hands at the end of the game with the score knotted.It was Jeter -- the kid who has caused almost as much depression in Aliquippa as the closing of the Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation mills -- who seemingly has a homing device wherein the ball gravitates to him in waning moments of big games.But even I thought, sitting there on press row, that it was all coming to an end this time. Surely he couldn't do it again. Surely he's lived his nine lives and there was no way, no freaking way, he could do it again.As Jeter grabbed the ball, 90 feet from victory with the score tied at 70 with just under 10 seconds remaining, even I doubted him this time.I remember turning to the guy on my right and saying, "No way Jeter does it again."Just as the words finished leaving my lips, the echo of that whistle echoed through the building. Jeter was fouled; he would go to the line with 3.2 seconds left.As he launched the first one and it rimmed out, many in the gym -- particularly those Quaker Valley partisans -- had to be hoping for the second one to miss in much the same fashion.But anyone who has had even a passing interest in WPIAL basketball over the last few years knew this one was going to be true. Jeter doesn't come up short in big games, Jeter doesn't miss with the contest on the line.He could have airballed that first one and you just knew the second one was going to find the twine. This was Lance Jeter. He always comes through!Sure enough, the second attempt was pure and it was pure Jeter. It was the game-winner, the bail-out points for a team that, frankly, probably still shouldn't have even be playing.So often we look at size, we look at 40-yard dash times, we look at how much a kid can bench press .Those aren't the telling numbers .Time and again, Lance Jeter has proven that, no matter what happens throughout the course of a basketball game, it truly is what a player does at the end that makes the indelible mark.It is what he does, when faced with adversity and is asked to carry his team that is the litmus test for what kind of athlete he truly is.Unfortunately for him and Beaver Falls, a similar scenario didn't develop in the PIAA Class AA championship game Saturday against Philadelphia Prep Charter. Despite a heroic first-half effort in which Jeter scored 18 points and staked the Tigers to a 29-27 halftime lead, he couldn't prevent the inevitable.Using its superior size and athletic ability, Prep Charter routed Beaver Falls in the second half, outscoring Jeter and Company, 55-22, to win going away, 82-51. Prep Charter held Jeter to just five second-half points.But that doesn't matter. To me, Lance Jeter is, undeniably and unequivocally the greatest late-game player in WPIAL history.

[akronzip]

Boy what an addition this kid would be. He may not be that big post guy I want but he is a guard that can play. George Mason is proving right now that it can be done without that 6'10 big guy. How about this kid at 6'3 and Conyers at 6'5 at guard? I like that combination.