Out of rhythm on offense early, the Lyons Lions trailed 30-16 at the half to the No. 5 ranked Heritage Christian Eagles. A surge in the third and fourth quarters would see them pull to within six points of the lead as they fought to get an upset on their home floor.
The effort and energy used to get back in the game was not enough to retake the lead as Heritage Christian went on a run in the fourth quarter to pull away for the 65-51 road win over the Lions.
Getting to the free throw line and hitting the offensive glass were the ways in which the Eagles took a double-digit lead in the first half. When Lyons was able to run its offense, the team committed some turnovers and missed shots from the outside in a cold start.
Finn Basey and Franklyn Dorschel were the two bright spots as they made shots in low and opened up the floor in the second half. Along with Colton Jonjak-Plahn getting his shots in the mid-range, the guards were able to hit a few more shots in the second half from the outside.
Andrew Booth and Logan Farner hit a pair of early 3-pointers in the fourth to cut the lead down to seven, but it would be the closest Lyons got to the lead. Heritage Christian went on an 11-2 run to go up with 16 with less than four minutes remaining. With the big lead, the Eagles were able to hold on comfortably down the stretch for the win.
Josiah Bowsher had a big night with 26 points and Keaton Case scored six of his 14 points at the free throw line to lead the Eagles. Basey finished with 12 and Dorschel added 11 off the bench for the Lions.
The loss sees Lyons drop to 2-8 overall and 1-2 in conference play.
Brandon Boles: bboles@prairiemountainmedia.com or twitter.com/BrandonBoles
Heritage Christian 65, Lyons 51
At Lyons High School
Heritage Christian (8-2, 2-1)
Josiah Bowsher 9 6-8 26, Keaton Case 4 6-9 14, Austin Brown 2 4-8 8, Jaden Johnson 1 4-6 6, Levi Friedrich 1 2-5 4, -Garrett Gonzalez 1 1-2 3, Seth Bruxvoort 1 0-0 2, Isaac Bluth 1 0-0 2.
Lyons 2-8 (1-2)
Finn Basey 5 2-5 12, Franklyn Dorschel 5 1-2 12, Colton Jonjak-Plahn 3 2-3 8, Logan Farner 2 2-3 7, Tristan Chavez 1 2-2 5, Andrew Booth 1 1-2 4, Aidan Christiansen 1 0-0 2, Gage Basey 1 0-0 2.
Score by quarters:
Heritage Christian (8-2, 2-1) 14 16 15 20 — 65
Lyons (2-8, 1-2) 6 10 19 16 — 51
3-point field goals — Heritage Christian(2): Bowsher 2; Lyons(3): Chavez, Booth, Farner. Total fouls — Heritage Christian 14, Lyons 26. Fouled out — Christiansen, Basey.
