Making a statement
Varsity Boys’ basketball defeats Belton with seconds remaining
Junior Kristian Murphy going for the final score of the game. Murphy put up two points to give the Lions the lead with three seconds left on the clock.
The Lions (4-1) defeated Belton in a buzzer beater 43-42. Junior Kristian Murphy made a layup to give the Lions just enough to be able to take the victory in a play that was not planned.
“It was exciting,” Murphy said. “It was supposed to be for Kobe, but then we kind of just scrambled around and I ended up getting the ball, so I just went to the room and scored.”
At the end of the first quarter, both teams were tied 11-11 after senior Michael Berry scored two points at the buzzer. The top scorers for the quarter were senior David Bonner, and junior Kobe Thompson, who both scored five points.
“We feel pretty good being able to get a win after losing three straight in our tournament,” Bonner said. “To prepare for Georgetown we gotta come in, practice and work hard each day, and we got to keep improving on our weaknesses, that’s it.”
In the second quarter, Belton led at the end of the half 21-18. Bonner continued to score points as he scored another five points, totaling ten in the first half. The game continued throughout the third quarter with both teams being tied again 33-33 at the end. Berry scored a total of five points in the quarter.
They kept fighting, they didn’t doubt themselves, and then we were able to make a play late, and got the win.
— Clint Bradley
“The good thing is, I don’t think that we played our best basketball, but we were able to get the victory, which that is huge for us,” Head Coach Clint Bradley said. “They kept fighting, they didn’t doubt themselves, and then we were able to make a play late, and got the win.”
With three seconds left in the game, Murphy scored two more points to put the Lions in the lead. The defense was then able to keep Belton from scoring in the final three seconds. Next, the Lions will have the Lion Classic tournament December 10-12, and then their district opener against Georgetown on December 18 at home.
“Georgetown is a tough opponent,” Bradley said. “They are very good defensively, and we’re going to have to work on handling their pressure, full court, and their half court, and we’re going to have to be able to guard for extensive periods of time, because they do a great job offensively of being patient. So, they are going to make a lot of passes, and reverse the basketball a lot more. So, we’re going to have to be solid defensively, and keep them out of the paint.”
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