Falcons use free throws to come back at Lone Tree

By Giovanni Coronel
Posted 12/20/22

In a game where Lone Tree was leading for the majority of the way Louisa-Muscatine was able to keep the score close and snatch the lead in the fourth quarter. Which resulted in the Lions being defeated on its home court by the Falcons, 65-59, on December 13. 

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Falcons use free throws to come back at Lone Tree

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In a game where Lone Tree was leading for the majority of the way Louisa-Muscatine was able to keep the score close and snatch the lead in the fourth quarter. Which resulted in the Lions being defeated on its home court by the Falcons, 65-59, on December 13. 

The Lions opened the game with two made three-pointers, courtesy of junior Ethan Bockelman. Outscoring the Falcons in the first quarter gave the Lions its second biggest lead throughout the entire game, six points, with its biggest lead being eight points. Never being able to extend its lead farther than eight points it made Louisa-Muscatine’s comeback in the fourth quarter all the more feasible. 

“We led that game by six, eight points most of the way.” Lone Tree head coach Tom Squiers said. “Then [Louisa-Muscatine] made a run and it got close in the fourth quarter. I don’t think LM took the lead until there was about one minute left in the game.”

It was as if the Falcons were rubber banded to the Lions, every time Lone Tree tried to push them away, they would bounce right back. Down the stretch it was the free throws that proved to be the difference between the two teams.

“It was the fact that we couldn’t make free throws, those are empty possessions,” Squiers said about the struggles his team faced. “Our inefficiency at the free throw line killed us down the stretch. I also thought we took a couple bad shots; we panicked a little bit.”

The Lions went 10-for-18 at the free throw line while the Falcons went 24-for-32 at the free throw line. A glaring difference between free throw efficiency Louisa-Muscatine was able to ice the game in the final frame from the charity stripe. 

Freshman point guard Emmett Burke was Lone Tree’s leading scorer, with 20 points. His highlight play came in the first quarter when he managed to steal the ball, outrun all the would-be defenders, and score an uncontested lay-up. Burke also had four assists and notched three steals in total, tying the team lead for the night. 

The second leading scorer of the night for Lone Tree was senior Drew Gauley, with 14 points. Gauley also collected two rebounds and had a team high five assists. 

Giving up the lead so late in a game when leading for a large majority of the time is a tough pill to swallow but Squiers knows the effort his team is displaying is not an issue.

“My kids came out and played really hard for all four quarters. I can’t fault them for the effort,” Squiers said. “We got to shoot better from the free throw line, and I think we got to get better motion. We stood too much against their zone, but we’re getting better. That’s all I can say is we’re getting better.”

 

Lone Tree vs Pekin

The Lions were hoping to bounce back after a close loss, but those hopes were dashed by the Panthers, who were able to defeat Lone Tree, 72-25, on December 16.

Being outscored by almost double digits each quarter it was an uphill battle the whole way for Lone Tree. Entering halftime, the Lions were trailing by 29 points.

Freshman point guard Emmett Burke was the leading scorer for the Lions on the night, with 10 points. Burke also recorded two steals and had two assists.

Junior guard Ethan Bockelman was the next highest scorer for Lone Tree, with eight points. Bockelman connected on two three-pointers, the only player for the Lions to hit a three-point shot that night. 

Lone Tree (3-6) will stay home to welcome conference leading opponent WACO (7-0) on December 20. After a short break for the holidays the Lions will be on the road as they travel to face fellow conference competitor Wapello (2-5) on January 3.