With four minutes left in the PVAC semi-finals, the Lions held a lead of only one point over the Cougars. Junior Dylan Shank scored, shortly followed by senior and captain Micah Goldrich, which led them to secure the win. After a close game on Feb. 19, the JDS Lions defeated the Melvin J. Berman Cougars 76-60, sending them to the championship.
The Lions had a rough start, trailing by 14 points halfway through the first quarter. Their first points were scored by senior and captain Cyrus Blumenthal, followed by a three-pointer from junior Dylan Shank. Shank went on to score 38 points in the game, which amounted to half of the JDS’ total points.
“We started down 14 to nothing,” senior Matty Stillman said. “We could have hung our heads and just gave up right there, but we put our hard hats on and started stringing together stops and scores, and we were able to call back into the game.”
The first quarter was not what the team had hoped for, but that did not stop them from staying aggressive and focused. The Cougars continued scoring, led by senior Alex August, who has been a key contributor to their team the entire season. Despite the pressure, the Lions did not stop pushing and made defensive adjustments, which allowed them to work their way back into the game.
“Our first quarter was really, really bad.” Head Coach Ryan Eskow said. “But from there on out, I mean, it was incredible, just about as good as we possibly could.”
In the first three minutes of the second quarter, the Lions allowed the Cougars to score five points. With a little over five minutes remaining in the half, the Lions tied the game, then Goldrich put them in the lead with a three-pointer. They went into halftime with a three-point lead of 39-36.
The Lions maintained their lead for the remainder of the game, though the Cougars were not far behind. With four minutes left in the game, the Lions were up only 60-57. The Cougars closed the gap by scoring three more points, but the Lions responded with a scoring run. According to Stillman, the team had been practicing very hard leading up to every game this season.
“We’ve been preparing so well for every game, and we just have to execute,” Stillman said
The Lions were up by seven with two minutes left as the Cougars called their second time out of the game. This did not intimidate the Lions, as they maintained their persistence, communication and tough play on both sides of the court. The teamwork on the court is what kept them strong during the whole game, according to senior Jesse Fisher.
The Lions had several players dealing with recent injuries, but this didn’t stop them. Fisher sprained his back just days before the game, but was still able to play an important role in the win. Blumenthal also got injured after taking contact from the Cougars during the game. Fisher said Goldrich has not had the season he expected, as he was out with a bad injury, yet he has worked hard to get back and support the team.
“[Goldrich] had a really bad injury at the start,” Fisher said. “He hasn’t been playing his style of basketball until really, this game. He’s back, and as coach would say, he’s on the mission.”
Eskow said there has never been a time this team has not been supportive of each other. He said their support goes past games and practices, but also in cases off the court. He is extremely proud of the way they represent their team.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever been around a team that supports each other so much on and off the court,” Eskow said. “We can have our best player go down and just still figure it out.”
Eskow said that when the team starts off losing, it is hard for them to fight back, but the Lions stuck it out the whole game and won by 16 points. Even though the team ended up losing the championship on Feb. 21, this win helped them feel confident and ultimately secured them the runner-up title in the PVAC.
“I love my teammates, I love our guys,” Senior Jesse Fisher said. “We didn’t want this to be the end; we wanted to get to the championship.”
