Alexander Colle | Sports Editor
Featured image: The men’s squad shot 42 per cent from the field and 25 per cent from behind the arc in the victory. | Courtesy of Anton Mak via York Lions
The Lions men’s and women’s basketball teams opened their seasons Saturday night when they tipped off against the Lakehead Thunderwolves at Tait McKenzie.
The result was a split decision, as the men defeated the Thunderwolves by a score of 90-78, while the women fell to Lakehead by a score of 69-63.
The men were led by guard Chevon Brown, who dropped 18 points on 5 of 12 shooting from the floor.
The game was an uphill battle for the Lions for the majority of the first half, with Lakehead shooting 51 per cent from the field against a Lions defence that had no answer for Thunderwolf guard Nick Burke, who shot 4 of 5 from the field including two three-pointers in the half.
The Lions ball movement was non-existent in the first two quarters, accomplishing a mere two assists on 40 per cent shooting.
Down 42-39 to the Thunderwolves, the Lions pounced out of the gate in the second half with a completely different energy on both sides of the floor. York outscored Lakehead 29-16 in the third quarter, while managing to hold the visiting team to only five field goals.
Owners of a 10-point lead going into the fourth, York’s defense was relentless, holding Lakehead to just six field goals in the final quarter.
York finished the game, shooting 45 per cent from the field and went 15 of 23 from the free throw line, which was an improvement from their 1 of 3 free throw performance in the first half.
The Lions also held the Thunderwolves to 32 per cent shooting in the half, including 3 of 15 from the three-point line.
The final score was 90-78 in favour of the Lions who are now the proud owners of an undefeated record on the season.
The women, however, could not pull through with the victory against Lakehead, falling 69-63 to the visiting team.
After playing neck-and-neck in the first quarter, the Thunderwolves pulled away in the second, outscoring the Lions 18-11 lead by Leashja Grant, who shot 5 of 13 on the floor, while making 7 of 8 free throws in the half.
Despite holding the rest of the visiting team to a mere 39 per cent shooting on the floor, the Lions went into the half down 36-27, due to in large part to shooting just a disappointing 28 per cent.
The second half saw much-improved play on both ends of the floor for York, who held Lakehead to only 33 per cent shooting from the field in the half. The Lions themselves shot 50 per cent from the floor, and were led by forward Lindsay Shotbolt, who finished the game with 15 points on 7 of 9 shooting.
Despite the Lions’ second-half adjustment, Lakehead managed to hold on to their lead. This was mainly due to their performance at the free throw line, as they went 11 of 12 from the charity stripe, while the Lions only drew three attempts.
The Thunderwolves came away with a 69-63 victory in the end, led by the play of Grant, who netted 25 points, going 13 of 14 from the line.
Both Lions squads look to improve their records this weekend, as they take on the Brock Badgers on November 3 and the McMaster Marauders on November 4 at Tait McKenzie.
Tip-off for the women is at 6:00 p.m. for both games, while the men’s matches start at 8:00 p.m.
