Livingston Lion basketball is off to a 2-1 start after defeating the Center Roughriders 64-43 Tuesday in Lion Gym. The Lions spread the ball and had five players score at least seven points in the game.
Livingston rebounded well in the first half and most of their points came within five feet of the basket. The Lions got second and third chances because of positioning on shot attempts. However, turnovers proved to be costly, as Center trailed by just two at one point in the second quarter. Livingston extended that back to seven at the half at 35-28.
“Our rebounding in this game was so much better, because at Splendora (four days earlier), we did not rebound well at all,” Livingston coach Sean Berry said. “I think we ended up with 55% of the defensive boards, so we didn't crash the boards like we should have. One of the things we worked on in practice yesterday was crashing the boards and then coming back to the ball to shorten the pass.”
The Lions did a better job of controlling the ball in the second half. With a rotation of 12 players, they were able to wear Central down. The margin grew to 17 midway through the third.
“One of the things we really want to work on is really polishing up and getting a good feel for the game,” Berry said. “Last year, we relied heavily on T.J. (Garner) and Ziekus (Garner). That's not a good game plan, considering that teams have had four years of film on Ziekus and two years on T.J. Now, it is about getting T.J. and Ziekus to elevate everybody's game around them up to their level.”
Ziekus Garner led the team with 16 points, Julien Cruz had 12, T.J. Garner had 11, and Evan Schmidt and Zayden Martin had seven each.
The coach said in order to make a run at the district championship, the entire team will have to be involved. He is looking for his group to share the ball and would like to see more assists on the stat sheet. Tuesday was a good start. In practice, they are working on situational basketball. There is also an emphasis on continuing what the team does well.
“It's like I told them at halftime, ‘How many threes have we taken so far – and it's four or five. How many did we make – none. So, what does that tell you?’ It is just getting in that mindset of, ‘This is not working, so I'm going to do this.’ In the past, if it hasn't been working, we just kept doing it until it does.”
All 12 players played a significant amount of time for the Lions Tuesday. The coach said he would like to keep rotating his entire team out on the floor when the situation allows.
“I told them that you may make it in for two minutes or you make it in for 10 minutes. When you are in there, just go all out.”
