East Texas News – Lions Eliminated in 2nd Quarter

Jaden Randolph fouls on a dunk. Willie Dault on Tuesday he scored 11 points. Photo by Brian Besh

Brian Besh
This email address is being protected from spambots. JavaScript must be enabled to view.

After trading punches briefly with the Jacksonville Indians, Livingston’s basketball suffered a knockout blow in the second round in a 75-51 loss at Lion’s Gym on Tuesday.

The home side held an almost 11-second lead in the first quarter before drawing 16 seconds into the second, but it was quickly lifted. The Lions performed poorly on defense in the second quarter, allowing 30 runs. India’s ball handlers were allowed to drive without much resistance, with a few layups mixed in with a few dunks.

“We need to play defense and stop watching and watching. We’ve seen too much,” said Livingston coach Frederick Camp. “When one of our players has the ball, we just stand there and do nothing to open it up. Most guards I have are looking for someone to pass the ball to. If you don’t move, you won’t be able to pass the ball and you’ll get caught It’s hard to say who’s going to appear, I don’t know if there’s a bunch of 80 (points) or a bunch of 40 (points) What we just did yesterday, we didn’t do today.”

The Lions had enough of a well-performing offense in the first and third, if not consistent. Willie Dault and Ziekus Garner each headed his 11-man team. Jayden Randolph had 10 points for him and Tamac Neil had 9 for him.

Livingston has a week off on vacation after playing in the New Canny tournament. There, they took on a bigger school, losing to Nederland, Kingwood Park and Fort Bend Travis while defeating Rosenberg Terry.

The coach says that if his team starts playing as coached, they will compete for the district title. I’m not sure.

“Anytime they (opponents) come down in the middle of the court and you step back and look at him, something is wrong. We (the coaches) can design it, but You can’t play it, if they don’t play it, it won’t work.”

Camp said he had had discussions with his team about their desire to win, pointing to a player on the team who had been part of Livingston’s historic football group that had won the district title for the past two years. He said he hopes his team will name the same feeling on his banner for the championship, but that will depend on their aspirations.

Livingston will have a first chance when the district starts next week. Until then, we’ll hit Kingwood Park at home on Friday before heading to Huntsville on Tuesday.