The Lions defeated the Vista Ridge Rangers last night with a huge comeback win that included a game winning dunk. With seconds remaining in the game, junior Chase Cotton dunked the ball to put the Lions in the lead 46-45.

“Not much was going through my head at that moment,” Cotton said. “I just reacted. The crowd made me feel great, I felt pumped. We had to keep the lead and the game wasn’t over yet.”

The Lions were behind nearly the entire game up until the final seconds of the fourth quarter. Cotton led the team in points with 16 points total. Senior David Bonner scored 10 points, and junior Kobe Thompson scored eight points.

“We have a lot of guys with a lot of heart, and we just want to come out here, and do the best that we can, and we came out on top,” Bonner said.

In the first quarter, juniors J.P. Stevens and Kristian Murphy both scored three points for the Lions, and both teams were held to single digit scores by both defenses. 

“We’re not going to stop,” Bonner said. “We’re going to take it all the way to the playoffs.”

In the second, and third quarter, the game was a rollercoaster, as both offensives woke up in the second quarter, but then the defenses took control in the third quarter.

“They’re resilient,” Head Coach Clint Bradley said. “This group has come a long way. We got six returning varsity players, who’ve got a lot of experience, and so they know that regardless of the score, and regardless of the time that they are going to keep fighting, and keep fighting through.”

The fourth quarter is when the Lions shot ahead with their offense by scoring 17 points total in the quarter. With five points in the quarter, including the game winning dunk, Cotton sealed the game for the Lions with just seconds remaining. Next, the Lions will be away against Dripping Springs on Friday.

“We’re going to continue to enjoy the victory tonight, but tomorrow, we talked to our guys about having a semi-short memory with this,” Bradley said.

The JV boys lost their game to Vista Ridge last night. The final score was 31-56. Junior Blane Smith led the team with nine points total. Sophomore Chris Jones, and senior B’Jon Allen led behind with seven points each.