Lions victorious over Elgin
By Teri Reed
POST-REGISTER
The Lockhart Lions played a hard-fought victory, 69-53, against the Elgin Wildcats on Friday, Jan. 21, pulling into a tie for third place with Hendrickson after the first round of the 26-4A District contest.
The Wildcats struggled against the Lions’ tenacious defense in the first half as they only scored 15 points while allowin
g Lockhart to gain 30 points.
Factoring into the Lions’ strong defense were the 24 defensive rebounds, six blocks, and 12 steals that the team totaled against Elgin.
Contributing to Lockhart’s defense were sophomore forward Michael Schulle with nine rebounds, senior forward Jonathan Sanders with six rebounds, while senior Garrett Shafer and junior Mark Black forced turnovers with three steals each.
After the halftime break, the Wildcats started strong by outscoring the Lions 20-17 in the third quarter.
Trailing by two points at the top of the fourth, the Wildcats began to get wild with fouls. The Lions didn’t crack under the pressure as they gained 22 points to add to their 69-53 victory.
“I am proud of how our boys did in the fourth,” Coach Tony Knight said. “We usually have a weak last quarter, but against Elgin it was our strongest. We just coasted in for the victory with our high free-throw percentages. Black did well with making five out of six free throws.”
Black contributed 15 points for the game with 71.4 percent from field goal range and 83.3 percentage from the free-throw line. So far in the district games, Black has an 82.9 percentage from the free-throw line.
Also scoring in the double-digits was Shafer with 20 points and Sanders with 12 points.
Coming off the bench for the Lions was Schulle with eight points, senior Zack Hill with seven points and junior Michael Black with five points.
“I am elated about how our guys played tonight. Everyone played their part well. Shafer had a great performance tonight, and the bench stepped up when we needed them,” Coach Knight said.
To start their second round in district, the Lions will host the Del Valle Cardinals at the Lions’ Den on Friday, Jan. 28, at 5:30, 6:30 and 8 p.m. Then on Tuesday, Feb. 1, the Lions will travel to play Connally.
terireed@post-register.com
