Lions pick up road win
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The Saltillo Lions traveled to North Hopkins Tuesday for one final game before beginning the district portion of their schedule. Despite getting off to a slow start in the preseason, the Lions have started to find their footing, picking up recent wins against Fannindel and Bells in tournament action.
Both the Lions and the Panthers set the tone early, getting out to strong opening quarters. Neither team lacked offense in the early going, though Saltillo had the upper hand, leading 18-15 at the end of the first frame.
The offense slowed down a bit for the Lions in the second quarter, though North Hopkins was able to keep their same pace going. The tied switched a bit, but Saltillo was able to prevent it from getting out of hand, as they trailed just 30-28 at the end of the first half.
Coming out for the second half of a tight game, the two teams matched each other evenly in the third quarter, with both teams scoring 10 points each. Needing to take back control of the game in the fourth quarter, Saltillo was able to do just that, posting their highest scoring frame of the night.
North Hopkins did their best to keep up with the Lions, putting up their highest scoring frame of the night as well, though it wasn’t even, as Saltillo went ahead and pulled out the 61-56 win.
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David Whitworth was the high scoring man, putting up an impressive 25-point performance. Just behind him was Gunner Tarver, who had a strong 17-point outing of his own.
Also scoring in double-digits was Andrew Redburn, who walked away with 11 points. Coy Collins also had a strong contribution, finishing with eight points.
Saltillo’s junior varsity squad was able to pull out a victory as well, getting them back to the .500 mark for the season. After a very close first quarter, the Lions JV team began to pull away in the second frame, taking a 16-8 lead at the end of the first half.
They continued to stay on top for the remainder of the game, outscoring North Hopkins 10-6 in the third frame, before winning the game by a final score of 38-24. Luke Ritter, Jacob Sexton and Caden McGill were the leading scorers for the Lions, putting up nine points each. Heston Peeples had five points, while Adrian Don Juan and Hunter Burkett each had two points. Sixteen of their 38 points came from the free throw line, as the Lions JV squad shot 16-21 on free throws.
The win pushes the varsity’s record to 5-11 on the year. They will be back in action Friday at home for their district opener. The varsity girls are set to begin at 5:30 p.m. with the varsity boys to follow.
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