The Saltillo Lions and Lady Lions hosted Yantis Friday, looking to each pick up a district win. The junior varsity boys went first and had a great game, wining by a final score of 60-43.
The junior varsity Lions were led by Heston Peeples who had a 20-point outing. Also scoring in double-digits was Caden McGill who had 11 points. Other scorers were Jacob Sexton with nine points, Ethan White with seven points, Landon Peeples with four points, Trey Tully with three points and Adrian Don Juan with two points.
The Lady Lions, who entered the day with a 14-13 record got off to an amazing start, outscoring Yantis 25-5 in the opening frame. Saltillo kept their strong scoring going in the second quarter, adding another 23 points to take a 48-21 lead at the end of the first half.
The Lady Lions never let their foot off the gas, scoring another 26 points and 27 points in the third and fourth quarters. After allowing just 17 points in the second half, the Lady Lions won by a very impressive final score of 101-38.
Julianna Giles was the leading scorer, outscoring the Lady Owls by herself. Giles has had a number of impressive outings, but Friday’s was by far her best, finishing with 44 points.
Allie Lane and Gabby Ross each had strong showings as well, putting up 18 points each. Yadhira Alonso also finished in double-digits, scoring 10 points.
Other scorers for Saltillo were Ryleigh Redar with eight points and Brianna Tawil with three points. “We were a little short-handed on a really good shooting night, we probably shot 70%,” head coach Bill Giles said. “We were surprised we scored as much as we did given we didn’t press during the game.”
The Lions were up next, looking to follow up the Lady Lions impressive performance. Both Saltillo and Yantis got off to strong first quarters with neither team able to create much separation from the other.
After a very tight opening frame, the Lions were able to hold Yantis to just 10 points in the second quarter, taking a 32-27 lead at the end of the first half.
The Lions had each of their two highest scoring quarters in the second half, posting 23 points and 22 points in the third and fourth quarters. Yantis did their best to keep up with them, but the Lions never lost control of the game, putting the Owls away by a final score of 77-65.
Andrew Redburn and David Whitworth led the way, each posting more than 20 points. Redburn had a strong 27-point outing, while Whitworth was right behind him with 21 points of his own.
Coy Collins was next with 13 points, while Gunner Tarver and Colton McGill each had five points. Colby McCoy had four points of his own, while Luke Ritter had two points.
The wins were big for both the boys and girls teams, as it pushes the Lady Lions to 15-13 on the year. For the Lions they are now 12-14 but remain undefeated in district play with a record of 3-0. Both the Lions and Lady Lions will be on the road Tuesday against Avinger. The Lady Lions go first at 5:30 p.m. with the Lions to follow.
