The freshman article, of course, would have been much longer if I had been there. I am sure there will be a good article about Thursday’s game.

December 2, 2014

Freshman Game:
Festus 5 2 8 5 = 20
Northwest 13 10 21 6 = 50

One of the Lions goals two years ago was to improve the player development process at the elementary and middle school levels. Part of the plan included reviving the Northwest Attack feeder program. The current freshman class included the first members of the Attack to reach the high school program. Immediate dividends were shown as the Lions quickly established control of the game and won the quarterfinals of the Seckman Tournament. The defense held the Tigers to a lone second-quarter basket and the freshman Lions posted their largest winning margin since defeating Jefferson 53-18 on December 18, 2010.

Clayton Wisdom scored 20 points and nabbed 2 steals. Nicholas Giovando scored 8 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. Jaren Hollis finished with 8 points and 6 rebounds. Dillon Fisher dished 2 assists and swiped 4 steals. Luke McClain passed 3 assists and stole the ball twice.

The Lions advanced to the semifinal game against Oakville the next evening at 6:45 pm.

Sophomore Game:
Northwest 4 6 4 9 = 23
Hillsboro 9 11 10 11 = 41

The Lions could not pull off the magic of winning in the twenties a second consecutive game and committed 30 errors in a loss at Hillsboro. Austin Wiesler opened the scoring, but the Lions turned the ball over six times in the first five minutes, allowing the Hawks to score nine unanswered points. Northwest was held without an offensive rebound until more than two minutes had passed in the fourth quarter when Austin Wiesler scored a 3-pointer on a second-chance shot.

Austin Wiesler led Lions scorers with 11 points. Logan Christopher nabbed five steals, four coming in the second quarter. Xaver McConnell grabbed 8 rebounds while Luke Byrd pulled 7 boards. Zach Torrence stole the ball twice and Jacob Schamel dished 3 assists.

The Hawks opened their season with a win while the Lions fell to 1-1. Northwest will open their home tournament against DeSoto on Monday, December 8 at 5:30 pm.

Varsity Game:
Northwest 6 15 12 12 = 45
Hillsboro 8 17 13 22 = 60

The Lions rallied from a 10-point second-quarter deficit to tie the game twice in the second half, but the Hawks strong free-throw shooting spoiled the first road game of the season. After Gavinn Barton’s steal and basket tied the game at 4 with 4:49 left in the first quarter, the Lions fell into a deficit that widened to 25-15 before Jacob Santos drained a 3-pointer with 52.1 seconds left in the first half. Jacob added another basket to pull the Lions within five and Northwest sliced the Hawk lead back to four when Jon Ruzzo blocked a shot, Jacob Santos recovered the ball, and Gavinn Barton sank a free throw.

Hillsboro turned the ball over on each of their first three possessions of the third quarter and two baskets by Austin Brown tied the game at 25. Although Northwest never took the lead, the Lions never let the Hawks lead by more than five in the third period. A Jon Ruzzo block, Brett Campbell steal, and Matt Farmer basket tied the game at 40 with 6:45 remaining. Unfortunately, the Hawks quickly broke the tie with a 3-pointer, beginning a 6-0 run, and Hillsboro took advantage of their free-throw opportunities.

Jacob Santos scored 14 points and dished 2 assists. Matt Farmer scored 9 points. Gavinn Barton totaled 7 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals. Brett Campbell added 5 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals. Jon Ruzzo blocked 2 shots and stole the ball twice.

The Hawks started their season with a win while the Lions fell to 0-2. The teams may meet again quickly in next week’s Gene Steighorst Invitational. Northwest will open the tournament with a 6 pm game against Festus on Monday, December 8.