Lions basketball comes up just short in rally against Wildcats

December 9, 2015 · 0 Comments

The King City Secondary Lions came up just short of a comeback against the Dr. G.W. Williams Wildcats on Monday, losing their first game of the season 81-79 at home.

By Jake Courtepatte
The King City Secondary Lions senior basketball team showed some real heart on Monday, despite coming out on the wrong end of the scoreboard.
They hosted their toughest challenger so far of the early season, facing the Dr. G.W. Williams Wildcats of Aurora, both teams entering undefeated.
A dose of reality seemed to be the early downfall of the Lions, having cruised through their last two opponents 67-60 and 50-36. Just under two minutes into the game, they found themselves in a 9-0 hole, leading to an emergency timeout to regroup. It was 12-0 before the Lions finally hit their first layup, almost three minutes into the game.
From there, however, the Lions clawed back to a one-point score at 18-17 for the Wildcats. By the end of the first quarter, only a last-minute three-pointer had Williams in the lead 22-19.
A five minute rest did the visiting team well before the second, putting up eleven straight points to once again open up a wide margin. With the score at 43-28 come half time, the Wildcats seemed able to cruise through the final 16 minutes.
That was not the case. A slight change in the game plan seemed to give King City an advantage, using fast breaks from their own side to catch the Wildcats off guard. It was only through some solid box-out defence in the dying minutes of the game that they hung on, a slight 81-79 victory.
The loss moves the Lions to a 2-1 record, still good for second in the 13-team Tier 3 division after putting up a massive 196 points in that time. Their next game comes on the road Monday against the Emily Carr Thunderbirds of Woodbridge, who sit at 1-0 so far this season.
For schedules and standings, visit www.yraa.ca.