Lions hold own against state-ranked team

Varsity vs. Del Valle
The Lockhart Lions” varsity basketball team traveled to Austin on Friday, Jan. 27, to play the state-ranked Del Valle Cardinals.
In their last game on Tuesday, Jan. 3, the two district rivals battle out on the court with Lockhart losing, 65-56.
With Lockhart looking for reprisal, it was another close game against the Cardinals, however

the Lions fell short by four points, 60-56.
In the first quarter, Del Valle jumped to the first lead by outscoring the Lions, 18-12. The Lions fought back in the second quarter with tight defense. The Cardinals could only add 10 points to the scoreboard, as the Lions gathered another 14 points. The first half ended with a close score of 28-26, in Del Valle”s favor.
After the halftime break, the Cardinals return to the court with enthusiasm. The Lions were outscored 22-11 in the third quarter giving Del Valle a 50-37 lead.
Trailing by 13 points at the start of the fourth quarter, the Lions stepped up their offensive play by scoring 19 points. They only allowed Del Valle to add 10 points to the scoreboard. The Lions ran out of time before they could overtake the lead, and went home with a 60-56 loss.
Leading Lockhart offensively was Nick Jones with 15 points. Jones also grabbed the most rebounds with five offensive boards and three defensive boards.
Also scoring for the Lions were Terrance Waldon with 11 points including a 3-pointer, Brandon Hodges with eight points, Mark Black with seven points, Michael Black with six points from 3-pointers, Michael Schulle with six points, Chris Hodges with four points, and Curtis Clay with a free throw.

Varsity vs. Vista Ridge
The Lockhart Lion varsity team hosted the Vista Ridge Rangers at the Lions” Den on Tuesday, Jan. 24, resulting in a close loss, 61-60, for Lockhart.
The Lions took the first lead, 14-12, in the first quarter with the Rangers trailing closely behind. Vista Ridge came out strong in the second quarter as they doubled the Lions second quarter points. After the first half, the Rangers upheld a 32-24 lead over the Lions.
After the halftime break, Lockhart played a strong second half by outscoring Vista Ridge in the third and fourth quarters. However, the Rangers maintained the lead over the Lions to take the 61-60 victory.
Lockhart exhibited their strong bench as every Lion player added points to the scoreboard. Scoring for the Lions were Brandon Hodges with nine points including a 3-pointer, Alex Joseph with eight points including two 3- pointers, Thomas Elizondo with eight points including a 3-pointer, Chris Hodges with seven points, Michael Schulle with seven points, Terrance Waldon with six points including two 3-pointers, Mark Black with five points, Michael Black with four points including a 3-pointer, Nick Jones with four points, and Curtis Clay with two points.

J.V. vs. Del-Valle
The Lockhart Lions” junior varsity basketball team met the Del Valle Cardinals on the road Friday night, Jan. 27.
“This was a great game to watch as both teams fought hard and showed great effort from the start to finish,” Coach Mark Brown said.
After one period of play the game was tied 14-14. At the halftime break, the two teams were tied 35-35.
In the second half, the Lions were within three points with three minutes to play in the contest. Del-Valle earned the victory, 72-60, but the Lions didn”t give up until the buzzer finally went off.
For the Lions, Joseph Gonzales came off the bench scoring 13 points. Gonzales was five for five in the first half making three 3-pointers and two field shots.
“As the old saying goes when you are hot keep shooting and Joseph made a true statement of this,” Coach Brown added.
Scoring for the Lions were Joseph Gonzales with 17 points, Ryan Carrcasco and Jonathon Gonzales with 10 points apiece, Clayton Parker and Anthony Tovar with six points each, Joseph Torrez and Jeremiah Johnson with four points each, and Colby Cotton with three points.

J.V. vs. Vista Ridge
The Lions took on the Vista Ridge Rangers on Tuesday, Jan. 24, resulting in a 56-48 defeat.
The last time these two teams had met, the game went into overtime.
“We knew this would be another good match-up between these two teams,” Coach Brown said.
After one-half of play, the Rangers held a half-time lead, 30-21.
But the third period went the Lions” way as they outscored the Rangers 23-13 to take a 1-point lead, 44-43, going into the fourth period.
During the fourth quarter, the Lions fought hard, but they went ice cold on offense while only scoring four points.
“The Rangers won the game in a very hard fought match,” Coach Brown added.
Scoring for the Lions were Ryan Carrasco with 17 points, Jonathon Gonzales with 11 points, Jeremiah Johnson with nine points, Joseph Torrez with four points, Colby Cotton with three points, while Joseph Gonzales and Anthony Tovas each scored two points.

(Courtesy of Brandon Durst and Mark Brown)