Voters picked Crest High School’s Lane Yocham as December’s Allen County December Area Athlete of the Month. Well deserved, surely, but it may have been a bit premature. After all, the junior guard has had an extraordinary January, lighting up the War on 54 Basketball Tournament this week.
In two games, the junior has sunk 11 3-pointers and scored a combined 47 points while leading the Lancers in scoring.
“It’s just my coach getting me open and my teammates setting good picks,” Yocham said.
For Crest coach Dakota Sporing, Yocham is just one of many weapons for the Lancers. If they all become as consistent as Yocham has been in the past few weeks, Crest could be unstoppable in the postseason.
Before falling to Humboldt and Iola earlier this week, the Lancers were on a nine-game win streak. Their only loss in both their host Three Rivers League and overall was to Southeast, who remain undefeated in the Three Rivers League at 6-0.
While playing for a team in the hunt for a league title is exciting enough, Yocham said playing in front of the fans at Crest’s typically packed home games makes all of his hard effort worthwhile. He thanked the Crest High School Lancer athletic community for casting their vote for him.
“I feel like my community has my back,” Yocham said.
As for the War on 54 Tournament, the Lancers wait to learn who they will face in Friday’s fifth-place game after falling to Humboldt on Monday and Iola on Tuesday. But no matter who they face from here until the state tournament, Yocham feels his team can compete.
“I think our team is ready to make a run,” Yocham said. “Monday and Tuesday were rough nights, but we’re ready to get going. We just have to get better. The losses were a wakeup call and we’re ready to get back on the right path.”
