Saltillo Lions basketball (20-14) will face number 8 in 1-A Graford (26-8) in the Regional Semi-Final game at Mansfield High School Friday at 7 p.m. following their Regional Quarter Final win over Slidell Tuesday night at Blue Ridge High School Gym. The Lions outscored Slidell in the fourth quarter to win 58-56.
Saltillo and Slidell were evenly matched in scoring throughout the game. At the end of the first quarter the two teams were tied at 14 and at half the score was 26-26. Slidell gained a two point edge in the third leading 41-39. In the third quarter, the Lions were down by six at one point but fought back to end the quarter with the two point deficit. However a four point advantage for Saltillo in the fourth gained the victory.
The Lions hit nine of 15 free throws in the game.
Trevor Moore led Lion scoring with 16. Walker McGill contributed 15. Additional scoring came from Michael Simmons with 9; Matthew Gurley 5; Clayton Wilson 4; Ryan Prewett 4; Branson McGill 2; Logan Camp 2; and Lyle Bench 1.
Lion Coach Bill Giles said, “This was an exciting game throughout. Slidell is well coached and has very good players. Our team played really well, followed the defensive scheme we put in, and played together offensively. We battled through some adversity, came back from being down six in the third quarter and made enough plays at the end of the game to get the victory.”
