Forget Cal, Stanford: This was the ‘Big Game’

written by J.L. • November 21, 2009 Leave a Comment 

OAKLAND– The St. Leo’s Lions 6th grade boys basketball team encountered rival opponent St. Lawrence O’Toole on the Tigers’ home turf Friday night, as they met for the very first time since the CYO Championships last season.

No offense to any Cal or Stanford fans… THIS was the “big game.”

It was the talk of the day, if not, the whole week.  ”Are you coming to the game?”  What game?  ”We’re playing St. Lawrence O’Toole.”

Enough said.

No one quite knows–well, somebody does, but they’re not talking–when this heated rivalry between the two schools began.  Maybe it’s because the schools’ two mascots are big cats.  Maybe it’s because both schools’ saints’ names start with an “L.”

One thing that’s for sure, however, is that both teams play very well, and at last night’s game, both teams were determined to win.

The Lions led for the better part of the game.  The first half, the Tigers trailed by only a basket, first quarter 4-6, and second quarter 11-13.  After the half with some pep talk by Coach Kirby Harris, the team altered their strategy, widening the lead.

At the end of the third quarter, the score was 14-21, Lions still ahead.

In the fourth, the Tigers would come out of their cages to fight back in this round. Trying to defend their title, the Lions fought back just as hard.

With 1:10 on the clock, the score was 22-27, Lions’ lead.  Forty-five seconds later, with 0:27 left on the clock, the score changed to 28-29.  With a foul shot attempt by the Tigers, the “extra” point would tie the game, 29-29, closing the Lions’ lead.

The last few seconds of the game were the most intense.

Another foul on the Tigers by the Lions stopped the clock at 5:3… five seconds / three milliseconds.  Basket good, score 30-29, time out by the Lions.  After the time out, back to the second foul shot attempt by the Tigers, this one also good.

The score was now 31-29, except a mistake by the scorekeepers put the point in the Lions corner, inadvertently making the score tied at 30-30 instead of 31-29.  (Note: photos from the game taken for this newspaper reflect this fact).

After a pause in the game to fix the score, the scoreboard was changed to 32-30.  Still wrong, but “correctly” reflecting the two-point deficit, unfortunately, for the Lions’ team.

In the final seconds of the game, with the ball in St. Leo’s possession, an attempt at a basket by the Lions (to tie the game and bring it into overtime) was unsuccessful due to an aggressive block by multiple members of the St. Lawrence O’Toole team.

The clock would buzz to zero, and even with a technical foul called on the Tigers for that block–earning the Lions one foul shot, which sadly, did not go in–it was not enough, ending the game with the official score 32-30, a loss for the Lions.

by Joe Leo
Advisor / THE LION LEDGER