By Josh Lewis, Writer
The Lions got a big win on homecoming night. Salem came in seeking their second win in a row and found it in a tight game against Corydon. Both teams went back and forth, but the Lions prevailed by holding off the Panthers rally for the 54-50 win.
Evan Lloyd opened the game with a corner three to give the Lions a quick lead, but the Panthers responded with a 10-0 run to claim the lead. Salem hung around though and stopped the bleeding with a hustle play from Braxton Dean who corralled a loose ball and hit a jumper to stop the run. Lloyd got a steal and a layup a few possessions later to make it a 13-9 game late in the first quarter.
In the second Corydon looked like they might start pulling away again after a three made it a 20-13 game, but Kaiden Romero-Hembree scored back to back baskets in the paint to narrow the margin. Adam Mull got a steal and a layup to bring Salem closer and a three from Payton Schocke tied the game up at 20. Baskets from Jackson Brough and Dean gave the Lions a 24-20 lead with less than a minute to go. Then another triple from Schocke gave the Lions a 27-22 lead heading into the break.
The Panthers came out of the second half with an adjustment that threw Salem off their game for a minute. Corydon utilized a diamond press defense that created a few turnovers and some easy baskets to gain some early momentum. But Salem adjusted and Adam Mull got a layup to push Salem’s lead back out 33-28. But Corydon hit a few more shots and a three late in the quarter gave them the 36-35 lead, and then a bucket at the buzzer sent them into the final stanza with a 41-38 lead.
Schocke hit an early three for the Lions to knot the game at 41. Back to back threes for Corydon gave the Panthers a 47-43 lead. But Dean and Romero-Hembree both got scores to tie the game up at 49 with just over three minutes to play. Two free throws from Schocke gave the Lions a 51-49 lead with 2:50 to go in the game.
Both teams traded a few turnovers down the stretch, and Corydon missed some crucial free throws to keep Salem in front. After one made free throw Romero-Hembree found Dean wide open running down the court for the easy layup to push the lead out to three with 33.5 seconds to go. Corydon missed a few more from the stripe and Schocke put the game on ice with a free throw with just 3.4 ticks left to seal the win for the Lions.
Salem went on the road on Saturday night to North Harrison and fell 59-47. The Lions will travel to Orleans on Tuesday.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
| SHS | 9 | 18 | 11 | 16 | 54 |
| CHS | 17 | 5 | 19 | 9 | 50 |
SHS scoring: Mull 8, Schocke 14, Lloyd 10, Brough 4, Dean 12, Romero-Hembree 6
CHS scoring: Fessel 17, Lindemann 15, Wolfe 6, Doblado 5, Wilkison 7
Threes: Lindemann 4, Wolfe 2, Wilkinson, Schocke 3, Lloyd 2
Evan Lloyd glides for an easy two.
Payton Schocke eyes a triple.
Evan Lloyd lets a three fly.
Photos by Josh Lewis.