Lions Hang to Clinch District Win
Kylie Hoffman, staff writer
The Louisa County Lions have already won the regular season Jefferson District title. Can they win the district tournament as well? Home court advantage, stands packed with Lions fans and seniors wanting this win more than ever.
On Feb. 12, 2019, the Louisa County Lions took on the Albemarle Patriots for the third time this season, but this time for the big title. Not only have the Lions not won this title since 1995, but the last time they won this title, Head Coach Robert Shelton was a senior at LCHS.
The game started with Albemarle receiving the tip off. With Albemarle missing their chance to score the first shot of the game, Louisa senior, Chris Shelton, got the ball and scored the first shot of the game for the Lions. At the end of the first quarter the Lions were up 11-4. Going back and forth in the first half, the Lions held the Patriots 21-15.
“Going to a basketball game in the den is one of my favorite things,” said Louisa resident, Cassie Duerson. “The atmosphere put off by the fans and the student section is one of the best feelings there is.”
Into the second half, Louisa was up by nine with 5:40 to go in the third quarter, but Albemarle soon came back to tie the game 33-33 in the late third. Back and forth the Patriots and Lions went, trading buckets trying to get the win.
Lions up 48-46 with 20 seconds to play, the Patriots got the ball and Sophomore Josh Morse’s 3-pointer didn’t fall. Not only did the Lions win the regular season district championship, but the Lions won the district tournament as well.
At the end of the night, junior Jarett Hunter had 14 points as well as making eight of the nine free throw attempts. Shelton scored 12 with six of those in the first quarter; followed by junior Isaac Haywood scoring nine points going 3-for-4 at the line.
This win for Louisa was a long haul. It was a long time coming for these boys.
“It didn’t start this game or this year, these kids have been playing together for a long time, since middle school,” Robert Shelton said in an interview with Scrimmage Play.
He said, “They’ve played against each other, they’ve played with each other. We’ve had our ups and downs as a program and as a team and they overcame that adversity and I’m proud of them, they worked hard for this moment and they deserve this moment.”
