The Ram boys basketball team ended its 2017-18 season with a 4-point loss in the second game of post-season play. The Rams faced the #10 rated Des Moines Christian Lions in Urbandale and lost 58-54.
The Rams took an early lead, 6-2, but were down 14-8 at the end of the first quarter. They came back to tie the game at 17 with 3:45 to play in the half, and the score was tied at 22 with less than a minute to play. The Lions put up a 3-point basket to end the half at 25-22.
The Rams’ shots wouldn’t fall early in the third quarter, with several missed baskets. The Lions had a 10-point lead, 32-22, with 5:30 to play in the third quarter. The Rams kept battling and trimmed the lead to only five points, 38-33, with less than two minutes to play in the quarter. The Rams were down by only four points with 45 seconds to play, but the Lions scored the final basket of the quarter to end that stanza 44-38.
The fourth quarter was a repeat of the third quarter, with the Lions building up an 11 point lead, 51-40. But, like before, the Rams trimmed the lead again. With two minutes left in the game, the score was 53-49. Both times it was the hot shooting of junior Trey Hinote that kept the Rams alive.
With just 54 seconds to play, sophomore Carter Morton put up a tres to put the Rams within one point of the Lions, 53-52. The last minute of the game was one of fouls as the teams jockeyed for possession of the ball. Hinote scored the Rams’ last two points from the free throw line, and the Lions scored five points from the line for the final score, 58-54.
The Rams were the underdog in the game, putting their 12-10 record against the Lions’ 19-2 record, but the game was more one of equal teams than a mismatch.
The Lions committed 17 turnovers for the game while the Rams committed 10, only two of them in the second half. But, other statistics show how the Lions won. They shot at 51 percent from the floor while the Rams shot at 41 percent. The Rams took many more 3-point shots than the Lions but made just one more. The Rams made nine long baskets and the Lions made eight. The Lions made 12 of 20 free throws.
The Rams shot free throws at a much better percentage, but made it to the line only seven times. They made five of those shots.
Hinote finished the game with 26 points including six 3-point baskets. Lance Hughes made nine points and Joe Towers made five. They each had one 3-pointer. Ben Bravard scored five points, Wade Adcock scored four points, Morton scored three and Jordan Patterson scored two. Every Ram who got playing time scored.
It was the last game of their high school career for seniors Adcock, Towers, Patterson, Bravard, Logan Lawson, Austin Easterlie, Kyle Peters, Garrett Swain, and Ben Wilkins. Terence Bingley did not finish the season due to an injury.
