Lions Roar Past Tigers in Final 30 Seconds

written by J.L. • December 19, 2008 Leave a Comment 

In the pros, there’s the Raiders and the Niners. In college, it’s Cal and Stanford. In elementary school here on this part of the East Bay? It’s the Lions vs. the Tigers, and “the BIG game” happened tonight on the Lions’ home turf at St. Leo’s gym in Oakland.

Tonight’s game versus the St. Lawrence O’Toole (SLOT) Tigers was a fight to the finish for the St. Leo Lions’ rival school. No one knows quite exactly when the deep rivalry between the two teams began, but one thing’s for sure– this game didn’t end it.

St. Leo’s gym was packed full, mostly with the home team’s supporters. Students, parents, some teachers and staff, principal Mrs. Simril, and athletic director Mr. Pollard (known as “Coach O”) were all there to cheer and show support for the 8th grade team.

Oh yes, and of course, the St. Leo’s Cheerleaders and Pep Squad.

The first quarter was all about the Lions, holding the Tigers in their cage for a good seven minutes. The Lions scored basket after basket, while the Tigers seemed to be on some type of tranquilizer. The score at quarter’s end was St. Leo’s 15 and SLOT 4.

In the second quarter, things started to heat up really quickly. With a packed house, and the action on the court, you could actually feel the temperature rise in the gym.

That heat may or may not have been the reason for the increased tension between the two teams, but fouls kept coming in one after the other, giving the Tigers a chance to get in some shots. The referees also had to remind the players to calm down.

Multiple time outs were being called almost every other minute, as both teams gathered with their coaches to roll out a new, or think up a new strategy. The pressure was on for St. Leo’s with SLOT catching up and closing the lead.

At the end of the first half, the score was now 15 to 13, Lions scoreless, and the Tigers having come out of their cage.

About a minute into the third quarter, with 2:37 on the clock, the Tigers finally tied the score at 15. Thirty seconds later, SLOT was now ahead by 2 points, not before the Lions’ Anthony Bowie answered back with a shot of his own, tying the game at 17.

Bowie again scored another shot later in the third quarter to advance the team to 19. At the end of the third quarter? The Lions and Tigers were tied again, 21 to 21.

The fourth and final quarter would become the biggest game of cat and mouse ever seen between two teams. (Except, you can’t call it that in this case, since both teams are, well, both cats). You would have had to be there and experienced it for yourself.

3:14, Tigers score two, 21-23… 2:57, Lions score two, 23-23 tied… 2:33, Lions score again, 25-23… 2:10, foul on Tigers, Lions score one, 26-23… 1:50, Tigers answer back, 26-25… 1:19, Tigers score, 26-27… 0:49, Lions 28-27… finally? 30-30 tied.

And that was just the first half of the fourth quarter!

In the final, final round, coming in tied at 30 points each, only one big cat was going to come out of this big game “alive” (the winner). If it wasn’t a zoo before, it would become one in the last three-and-a-half minutes as both teams fought to the finish.

Only thing about it was, even though there were only 3:30 minutes on the clock, it took almost twice that amount of time for the end of the quarter to finish.

At 1:50 on the clock, both teams were tied yet again, the score 34 to 34. Twenty-nine seconds later, SLOT made a basket, and in a huge upset for St. Leo’s, SLOT was able to steal the ball, turning the score 38 to 34 just a minute later with 0:50 left to spare.

The Tigers were determined to win this game, but the Lions were more determined than they, especially with the “enemy” playing on their home turf. A foul on the Tigers gave the Lions a chance to bounce back, but those two “free” shots never sunk in.

A rebound by 8th grader Keiland Callum narrowed SLOT’s lead, giving the Lions hope for the big win they needed against their rival team. With 0:35 on the clock, wild cheers came from the St. Leo’s supporters in the crowd, the score 36 to 38, SLOT lead.

This is where time stopped, literally, in St. Leo’s gym, as the following events occurred.

0:35 on the clock, Callum is fouled after that game-changing rebound… one foul shot, good, score 37-38… SLOT still leads… 0:33, foul on St. Leo’s, SLOT one shot, no good… 0:31, Callum is fouled again, one shot, no good… score still 37-38.

Twenty-six tiny little seconds on the clock. Foul on the Lions, and the Tigers get one shot to “widen” their lead. It doesn’t go in, and in the change of possession back to the Lions, a pass to 8th grader Andrew Abrams makes it into the basket, score now 39-38.

With five seconds left, the Tigers’ coach calls a time out. Back on the court after the timeout, the clock runs down and stops again with two milliseconds left (yes, the clock read– 0:2), ball in SLOT’s possession.

For a second there (more like, minutes), there was some type of dispute going on, called by the opposing team. After a talk with the referees and a whistle, the game was called, the clock moved to 0:0, and the Lions came away victorious, 39 to 38.

At the end of the game, Coach Ron Chinn said, “I’m just proud of the boys. They showed in this game that they’re maturing. They didn’t give up when things were going down and they gave it their all.”

Coach James Howard said, “This was the biggest game for us, hands down. The team really showed their St. Leo’s pride.”

by Joe Leo, Advisor
Publisher / THE LION LEDGER