Lions shoot down Eagles 62-56 – Despite Akin’s aggression, Lockhart controls bal

The Lockhart Lions beat the Austin Akins Eagles 62-56 in a close game Tuesday at the Lion”s Den.

Controlling the tip off, the Eagles opened up scoring within the first seconds of the game, but were answered with points from the Lions, who tied the score 2-2. The two teams battled it out in a face-paced first quarter.

Both teams” defense was aggressive, which ke

pt the teams going back and forth with scoring.

The Eagles were ahead of the Lions 12-10 in the last seconds of the quarter. After missing his shot, sophomore Michael Schulle grabbed the rebound and made his follow-up shot, which left the two teams tied going into the second quarter.

The Lions saw full-court pressure from the Eagles” defense, which kept Lockhart hustling and fueled their aggression. The Lions took the lead with Schulle putting more points on the board and bringing thee score to 17-14.

Yet the Eagles kept fighting and eventually took the lead 23-17, with Lockhart unable to put any points on the board.

After a free throw from senior center Michael Spears and field goals from seniors Jonathan Sanders and Garrett Shafer the Lions were able to put more points on the board, but the Eagles prevailed and took Lockhart into a 4-point deficit at halftime with a score of 28-24.

The second half opened up with Akins scoring, but Lockhart answered with three quick field goals, which put the scored tied 30-30.

The Lions took the lead as senior guard Jacob Alvarez made a free throw after being fouled as he went for a lay up.

Shafer extended the Lions” lead 35-30 after putting in two baskets. Power forward also added a shot made from the top of the key despite the Eagles” man-to-man defense.

Despite Akins” 6-foot-7 center, the Lions overpowered the Eagles in the paint as Lockhart commanded the third quarter with good follow-up shots and rebounds.

The Lions eventually took a 16-point lead over Akins after junior Michael Black sank a three-point shot, which put the score at 50-34.

The Eagles started picking up rebounds in the fourth quarter as they sought to improve from their third-quarter slack.

With less than two minutes left in the game, Akins was able to close Lockhart”s lead 54-50. In hopes to prevail over Lockhart, the Eagles” once again put on full-court pressure.

But Akins” lack of control led to a series of fouls and free throw shots that increased Lockhart”s lead and locking in the win with a final score of 62-56.

The Lions were eight-for-eight on the free-throw line.

“It”s our second win in a row and I feel like we”re getting steam,” said coach Tony Knight, who added that the Lions will play another 5A team on Friday.

“[Last]Friday we got killed and we have really bounced back. We like playing these big 5A schools becase it gets us ready.”

The Lions will play Smithson Valley on Friday in a tournament as they travel to Seguin.

clytle@post-register.com