Lions fall to 6A Lehman

By Wesley Gardner
LPR Editor

The Lockhart Lions varsity boys basketball team dropped a close contest against the Lehman High School Lobos 46-44 on Friday.
The game came down to the final stretch of minutes in the back-and-forth contest, with Lehman just barely managing to hang on in the final seconds of regulation.
The loss drops the Lions to 0-4 on the season, though each loss has come from a non-district team. Lehman High School is a 6A school.
According to Head Coach Javier Torres, the Lions can’t afford to let tough road losses to non-district teams deter them from playing at a high level.
“We have to keep our heads up,” said Torres.
“It’s non-district.
“This was against a 6A team, and it was pretty good 6A team. Our non-district schedule is hard, but we can’t keep our heads down, because January 3 is when it all starts.”
The lions started the game strong to take a 19-12 lead with about four minutes to play in the half. The Lions weren’t shooting particularly well, but they thrived when they saw solid touches inside the paint.
The lions would continue to stretch the lead, but a late Lobos run brought the score back to 24-17, with the Lions leading heading into half time.
The Lobos came out strong at the beginning of the second half, outscoring the lions 12-6 to bring the game to 30-29 Lockhart
On the following play, the Lions would foul a Lobos guard shooting on a three-point attempt, sending him to the foul line. The shooter would hit two of his three attempts, giving the Lobos a 31-30 lead, their first lead since early in the first half.
A turnover on the next possession would give the Lobos the ball back quickly. Lehman would tack on another three to go up 34-30, but a quick Lions three of their own put them back within a point of their opponents.
The Lions defense would make another crucial stop near the end of the quarter followed by another three to take a 36-34 lead. Another quick stop followed by another Lion score would give them a 38-34 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The Lions and the Lobos traded scores throughout much of the fourth quarter, with the Lions leading 42-38 with 5:23 left to play.
After a series of questionable offensive foul calls, the Lobos clawed their way back into game with a pair of scores, taking a 43-42 lead with three minutes left to play.
Another score would put the Lobos ahead 45-42. Lockhart got the ball back with 1:21 to play down by 3 and eventually brought the game to 44-45, but a foul near the end of regulation sent a Lobos guard to the foul line where he’d tack on another point and ice the game.
Torres said moving forward, his team would have to take better care of the ball if they were going to find success.
“We have to handle to ball better,” said Torres. “Turnovers are killing us.
“We have to make free throws and we have to make lay-ups when the contact is there.”
The Lions will next face off against Alamo Heights at 10:30 Friday at the Kerville Tivy Tournament in Kerville.