Starting off with a bang

Lions defeat Rouse in season opener

Junior+Kobe+Thompson+dribbling+down+the+court+against+Rouse.+Thompson+finished+with+15+total+points+in+the+game.

Jack Densmore

Junior Kobe Thompson dribbling down the court against Rouse. Thompson finished with 15 total points in the game.

The Lions won their season opener game against the Rouse Raiders Tuesday night with a score of 56-45.

“[It feels] great,” senior David Bonner said. “We lost to them last year, and it’s great to come back and be able to win against them.”

The Lions led the first quarter 13-8. Junior Kobe Thompson led the Lions in scores during the quarter with four points. Bonner, junior Kristian Murphy, and sophomore Dalton Flowers all scored two points each, and junior Chase Cotton scored three points in the first quarter.

“I have to give thanks to all of my teammates,” Thompson said. “They helped get the W.”

In the second quarter, Bonner and Thompson led the team in points with four points each. Bonner scored a total of nine points in the game. Thompson scored a total of 15 points overall in the game. Murphy, Cotton, Flowers, and senior Logan Kubin all scored two points each in the second quarter. The Lions led 29-23 against the Raiders. 

I have to give thanks to all of my teammates.

— Kobe Thompson

“Very pleased [with the team], I thought it was a very good team effort, and the biggest thing that we did was we set the presence on the defense, and we did a great job on defensive rebounding,” Head Coach Clint Bradley said. “We didn’t get in foul trouble, I’m very pleased with our guys, they guarded the three very well, like we worked on, so very pleased overall.”

In the final half, the Lions were able to stop a Raider comeback with the help of Cotton, who kept the Lions lead going with a total of eight points in the half. Cotton finished the game with 13 overall points. Kubin scored six more points, totaling with eight points overall, and Flowers scored two points, and finished with six points overall. Thompson continued scoring with a total of seven points in the half, and Bonner scored an additional three points. Murphy also scored one point off a free throw.

“Anderson’s a very good ball club too,” Bradley said. “We base everything on our team defense, and team rebounding, so that’s going to be one of our primary focuses, tomorrow and Thursday, because they are big and strong and athletic, so we are going to have to defend the rebound again. Offensively we are just going to have to continue to execute, take care of the basketball, and we should be fine.”

The Lions will go on to face Anderson this Friday at home, at 7:00 p.m.