Depleted hoop Lions drop opener

Special to the LPR

With football season still going, the Lockhart basketball Lions opened their season Saturday at Marble Falls, starting a freshman and two sophomores while losing a fourth-quarter lead and falling, 55-47.

Lockhart led Marble Falls 14-5 after one quarter of play, 25-19 at halftime, and 35-34 heading into the final period, but were outscored 21-12 in the final eight minutes.

Sophomore Dareon Loggins led Lockhart with 17 points, followed by junior Marcus Tovar with 11 and sophomore John Camacho 9. Other scorers for the Lions included sophomore Elijah Santana and sophomore Chris Martinez with 3 each, and junior Joaquin Lopez and sophomore Jordan Ortiz with 2 each.

“I was happy the way we competed,” Lockhart Head Coach Javier Torres said. “Marble Falls had some key returners coming back this year. We jumped on them right out of the gate, but their experience came into play and they didn’t panic. At one point in the second quarter, we were up 12. We had some mental lapses on defense, and they made some crucial shots at the end of the game.”

Lockhart played its first home game Tuesday night (Nov. 15) against Georgetown East View, will travel to Bastrop on Saturday, and hit the road to face Luling on Monday. LHS will return home Tuesday to face Austin’s McCallum High.