Lions get revenge with home win

JESSIEVILLE -- Jessieville had four players in double-digits as they rolled to a 52-42 win over the Malvern Leopards Friday night at the Jessieville Sports Arena.

Sawyer Lamb led the Lions with 13 points and nine rebounds, Alex Burleson and Dylan Anderson added 11 each and Steven Benson had 10 with 6 rebounds. Malvern's Chase Goshien led the visiting team with 13 points, and BJ Lacy added 11.

Jessieville got on the board first as Anderson hit a trey with just under 1:30 off the clock, and the team did not relent, taking a 15-5 lead at the end of the period. Jessieville stretched their lead to 26-12 at the half. Malvern made a run in the second half, outscoring Jessieville 16-10 in the third to cut their deficit to 36-28, but the Lions came back in the fourth to secure the win.

Jessieville coach Eddie Lamb was proud of his team's effort, especially after losing to Malvern two weeks ago.

"We played really good early and shot it good early," he said. "When you're playing a team like Malvern, you're not just going to keep hitting five threes every quarter. I was proud of the way (when) they put heat on us a little bit, we were still able to come through and make some free throws down the stretch. We took care of the ball a lot better than we did last time. We had 13 point lead last time against them, and we kinda melted under pressure. The kids did a really good job tonight."

The Lions also came out ahead on rebounds Friday night.

"That's about the third or fourth straight game now we've led in rebounds," he said. "That's key for us because we weren't as good a rebounding team early in the year. We've really focused on that. I'm extremely proud of the kids for their rebounding. It was a good overall win tonight."

Many fans were concerned when Benson fell to the floor with a knee injury with four minutes remaining in the game, but Lamb feels that it will not keep him off the court long.

"It's a little hyper-extension," he said. "Everything felt good in it. We feel good about it. Steven's tough, so he'll be fine."

The Lions (14-6, 9-1 in 3A/4A-8) will travel to Fountain Lake Tuesday. The Leopards (9-7, 6-4 in 3A/4A-8) will play host to Bismarck.

Girls

Kellie Lampo picked up a double-double with 26 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Jessieville Lady Lions to a 48-33 victory over the Malvern Lady Leopard Friday night at the Jessieville Sports Arena.

Faith Bratton added 16 for the Lady Lions. Sierra Smith led the Lady Leopards with 10 points.

Both teams matched each other point-for-point in the opening half with an 8-8 score after one and 18-18 tie at the half. After the break, the Lady Lions boosted their defense, allowing only three points by Malvern in the third while putting up 13 for a 31-21 lead. The Lady Lions then outscored the visiting team 17-12 in the fourth to secure the win.

Jessieville coach Matt Carter felt his team performed better than they did when they faced Malvern two weeks ago at Leopard Center.

"The last time we played them over there, we trailed the whole game 7-10 points, and we had to really fight late to come back and win the game," he said. "Tonight, we never really trailed. It was a close game early. We didn't play with a lot of toughness early. We were kinda out of sync. We talked about it at halftime, and it just came down to two things -- being tougher and take care of basketball. I thought our toughness came out in the second half because they put a hammer on us. They were fouling us hard. I was proud of my girls for the way they stepped up the second half."

The Lady Lions struggled from the field, especially in the first half, Carter admitted.

"Thirty-seven percent is probably more in the first half than the second," he said. "That comes from not having the guts to take the shot. Early in the game, I told them, 'You've gotta have the guts to take the shot.' They were just shooting it. They weren't shooting it to make it. That's what we talked about at halftime. You've gotta come out and shoot to make, and honestly, our percentage was a lot better in the second half. That's going to be the recipe to beat Jessieville, and we're going to have to find a way to overcome it, and we did tonight. Hopefully, we can build off that."

The Lady Lions (17-3, 10-0 in 3A/4A-8) will travel to Fountain Lake Tuesday and Malvern (6-9, 4-5 in 3A/4A-8) will host Bismarck.

Sports on 01/22/2017

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