(BOYS) Friday Night Lights as Lambrick Park tops Carson Graham in Quarters
Carson Graham Eagles V. Lambrick Park Lions
Friday Dec. 10, 2021, Round 2
Written by Scott Leigh
Friday Night Lights in Carson’s gym, within sight of the now cloud-shrouded Lions, saw the home squad Carson Graham Eagles playing host to the Lambrick Park Lions (ironic right?) from Saanich. Both teams are coming off big wins in the first round of the tourney - and are eager to continue their early season winning streak.
The Lions came out strong, setting the pace and taking advantage of their size inside. A few easy buckets resulted in Lambrick running out to a 6-0 lead early in the first. Carson had a number of opportunities to knock down open threes, one of which connected - if they can continue to find the open man and get good looks, they have to believe that shooting percentage will improve. Two 3s by #9 on Carson, Rideout, had this game temporarily all tied up at 6 a piece. #11 on the Eagles, well known in the world of football and lacrosse, is looking to bring some of his familiar energy onto the basketball court and give his team a burst of energy off the bench. Solid decision-making and hitting open shots pushed the Lions lead back up to 7. #10 for the Eagles, Andrade, connected from range and followed it up with a mid-range jumper to pull the Eagles back to within 2.
End of the First Quarter Score: 16-11 for the Lions
Interesting fact: As most of you will know, a group of Lions is known as a pride - what most of you probably don’t know is that the Lambrick Park Lions have playfully determined their motto is also P.R.I.D.E., which, of course, to them means they Persevere with Respect and Integrity and Dedicate themselves Enthusiastically to become powerful and contributing citizens. Powerful stuff.
#9 for the Eagles, Rideout, continued to be key to the offensive success of the team, racking up 13 of his team’s first 18 points. You have to imagine they are going to need a few other players to step up and contribute offensively to counter the well-balanced attack from the Lions. Halfway through the Q2, Lambrick was holding onto its lead now up by 6. The Lions have made a push and extended their lead, but that has primarily been self-inflicted by the Eagles as a result of too many turnovers leading to easy buckets. #13 for Lambrick, Bransema-Stokes, controlled the pace of play and made smart decisions in transition - making life easy for his teammates. With one minute left to play in the half, #8 for the Lions, Stefani, was double checking to see if the banks were still open this late on a Friday - and we can confirm they are in fact open, even from deep. Stefani respectfully raised his hand in an act of apology for what the fans can only assume was an inadvertent bank from outside the arc. Lambrick pushed the pace to finish the half - and found themselves up 19 heading into the locker room.
Halftime Score: Lambrick 47: Carson 28
Halftime Fact: Carson has supporters from all over North America - here is one of their Google reviews: “I live in Katy Texas but this looks like a very cool school” - Anonymous
Bonus Halftime Fact: Nick Pivetta, a current MLB pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, attended Lambrick Park.
Carson Graham were the home team tonight, and beloved in their local community; so much so that one of No Regrets longtime sponsors, Delany’s Coffee House, have affectionately named one of their coffee beans the Carson Blend. The home team fans are hoping the Eagles got a hold of some of that caffeine rich Carson Blend to give them the energy boost they need to get themselves back into this game.
Lambrick is looked poised to find themselves in a semi-final game tomorrow, with hopes of capitalizing on their trip to the Mainland. The Lions’ commitment to execution and strong fundamentals is commendable - shout out to Lambrick’s coaching staff (Somers, Grew and Reddy) on getting their team committed to a team-first approach early in the season. Drive, kick, drive, kick and find the open man = easy bucket; that is a formula the Lions are going to want to stick with. As Carson fell further behind, the crowd was getting anxious and losing patience - at one point this energized crowd was stomping on their seats and giving their team that home team advantage the Eagles are used to, but as the game ran on the crowd quieted, slowly accepting the possibility that Lions were truly the kings of this jungle.
End of the Third Quarter Score: Lambrick 74: Carson 48
The Eagles came out inspired to start the 4th, going on a quick 5 point run to begin the quarter. The Lions’ Bransema-Stokes continued to be relentless in breaking down his defender off the dribble and finding a way to the basket, and either earning the foul call or finishing inside. Blue the Lion, the descriptively named mascot for the Lions, was not able to attend tonight’s game but we have confirmation that Blue is at home roaring proudly with his Pride as his team extended their lead and put this game out of reach.
In the end the strength, size and balanced attack from the Lions was just too much for the Eagles tonight. Both of these teams will have opportunities to get back on the court tomorrow and continue to improve as they get closer to the start of their regular seasons.
Final Score: Lambrick 91: Carson 68
No Regrets.