Lions fall to 0-3 on the season
Daniel Rependa
Contributor
It’s not all doom and gloom when it comes to the York Lions’ frustrating 0-3 start to the 2011-2012 regular season.
While McMaster beat the Lions 82-70 Friday evening, the Lions showed some serious promise for the upcoming season and generally executed their game very well. The Lions are a much more aggressive team than McMaster, and consistently displayed a very strong presence inside the key, both offensively and defensively. They showed excellent movement on the court along with an evident passion and skill for creating shots within the paint. Defensively, the Lions did a fantastic job of locking down the middle, forcing McMaster to shoot from the outside.
Unfortunately, the Lions’ general aggressive-type game play led to some poor decisions and resulted in numerous turnovers. They also struggled with defensive rebounding, which was odd considering the overall larger stature of the Lions.
“It was a winnable game,” says David Tyndale, one of York’s two team captains. “We dug ourselves a hole. We weren’t fighting enough on the rebounds; turnovers were costing us some possessions. I believe they had more possession of the ball than us. They were showing a little more effort.”
Ultimately, the Marauders simply out-shot the Lions. York removed McMaster’s option of driving into the paint and forced them to take their chances with a long-range game.
Unfortunately, McMaster achieved success doing precisely that. Opportunities seemed to fall into the Marauders hands, and sometimes… that’s just how the game works out.
By the end of the game, McMaster’s relentless shooting capabilities led to new confidence in the paint. While they still weren’t really able to complete many shots on the Lions inside the key, the Lions fell victim to their own size and athletic ability. Any basketball player will tell you that if something looks like a foul, it’s likely to be called like one. Thus, the fact that the Lions generally overpowered the Marauders led to many foul shot calls, and the team had no intention of missing them. Unfortunately, the Marauders strength in this area contrasted sharply with York’s inabilities.
The Lions lost to the Marauders by 12 points, but they missed at least 10 free throws. That’s 10 points that are not going to come any easier.
Despite the loss, the Lions seem to have all the required tools to be a solid team. They have very experienced captains, a big presence in the paint, general athleticism, a seemingly hard work ethic, and passion for the game. They also have a real capability to drive to the rim. Furthermore, they’re a very young team this year. This may play to their disadvantage now because of a general lack of experience and practice, but that will come with time.
“They’re young,” says Tyndale. “It’s a transition from high school to this. I’m used to this kind of game, but a lot of guys aren’t used to this so, with time, honestly, things will get better.”
