An unexpected finish to what looked to be a blowout loss in the first half, landed the San Antonio Christian Lions the second place spot in the TAPPS 6A District 3 to head into the playoffs.
The tough team from Central Catholic came out of the box hot Monday night, not missing many shots, and playing stellar defense. The Lions could not get the shots to fall, and the score began to separate. The Buttons took the first quarter with a 22-12 lead. Not letting up, Central Catholic continued to dominate in the second quarter sending the teams to half time with a score of 37-25.
The ten minute half time talk must have spurred something inside the Lions, because right of the gate the Lions began to score, and score a lot in the third quarter. Junior, Marc Eyman for the Lions scored 13 points alone in the quarter and the defense was able to finally against some stops against the Buttons. Freshman Isaac McCrea was a huge addition for the Lions in this quarter, earning them many steals and some huge rebounds.
The fourth quarter remained extremely competitive and full of big shots and big defense for both teams. With a one point lead by the Buttons to the start the quarter, the Lions knew they needed to not only win the game, but win by 8 points in order to secure that 2nd place spot. Having previously lost to Central earlier in the season by 7, this was the only shot to earn that first round bye for the TAPPS Basketball Playoff Bracket. Lions Coach, John Valenzuela knew the number he needed to get to, but as the clock began to count down to 10 seconds it wasn't looking like a big enough margin- the Lions were only up by 3....
Central Catholic not prepared to take the "L" on the night dropped one (of many on the night) 3 to send the game to Overtime with a score of 65-65. Coach Val knew he had his chance, and told the boys the game plan- to win by 8. The 4 minutes of overtime was just what they needed. The Lions walked away on Senior Night with a Win and by 9 points, earning them that second place spot.
The final score of the great matchup was 80-71 with Lion standout players being Marc Eyman with 30 points, Eli Pritz with 25, and freshman Isaac McCrea with a huge freshman performance when it was most needed. Central Catholic outstanding players of the game goes to Julian Sanchez with 18 points and Joshua Devora who had 29 points on the night! Great game by both local teams!
By Bradley Collier
