Lakeview Academy’s Tyler Ward doesn’t let the bigger teams in the Lanierland Tournament intimidate him.

He proved that Saturday night.

Ward scored 23 points, including five three-pointers, to lead the Lions in their 79-63 win against Flowery Branch in the first round of the Lanierland Tournament.

The 5-foot-10 senior scored 21 of his points in the first half and led a dominant Lakeview (2-2) offense that put away last year’s Region 7-AAA champion early. The win marked the first win against the Falcons in Lakeview history.

“As a (Class) A school, Lanierland is something we look forward to showcase our program and what we can do,” Ward said. “We’re not the biggest, the fastest or the strongest athletes, but we show we can still play basketball.

“That’s kind of extra motivation,” he added. “To go in and cause an upset and show people in Hall County that Lakeview can play basketball.”

The past two seasons have shown the county exactly that. After a 21-9 last season in which Lakeview won its first state playoff game in school history, the Lions are proving that they can play alongside the rest of Hall County. They’ll have another chance to prove it when they play Johnson in the tournament semifinals on Thursday.

“The mind set going into Johnson is the same as Flowery Branch,” Ward said. “They’re fast, they’re strong, they’re athletic. Our mind set is to just play our game — fast-paced with defensive intensity.”

While Ward has spent the offseason trying to become more of an all-around player, his strength on the court is evident: he can shoot 3-pointers as often as he needs to.

“Shooting 3s is what I’m more comfortable with in my game,” he said. “The 3s were just falling against Flowery Branch so I kept firing them up.”

His abilities from the arc haven’t gone unnoticed either. Lakeview coach Seth Vining is very aware of his senior’s talent.

“When Tyler is on, he’s pretty hard to stop,” Vining said. “When he’s shooting well it brings another dimension to this team, and Flowery Branch was one of those games. It was actually his first game this year that he’s shot like that.”

That means there is a good chance that more high-scoring games are to come. The team chemistry is there to help, as Ward is joined by seven fellow seniors this year, many of which he has played with for his entire varsity career.

“Tyler played some on our varsity as a freshman,” Vining said. “We expect seniors that have been through the wars to accept a leadership role.”

With only four games played so far this season, it might be early to begin thinking about region titles or the playoffs. But as a senior, Ward has high expectations for his final year of high school basketball.

“I would love to win a Lanierland Championship, which we have an opportunity to do Thursday and Friday,” he said. “I want to go back-to-back in the region and get farther in the state playoffs.”