MLCA boys drop game to Kittitas

KITTITAS - The Lions hit the road to take on the Coyotes Friday looking to put back-to-back wins together. But the team was sent home with a 48-38 loss as MLCA was only able to suit up seven players for the contest.

"We were kind of short-handed due to injuries and team rule violations," coach Duke Wood said. "We started out very well on the road, handled their pressure pretty good for the first half, and played really good defense as we took a 19-13 lead into the locker room at the half."

But the second half, Wood said was a horse of a different color.

"We come out of the locker room seemingly happy to be leading," he said. "But we should've been trying to extend  the lead and get a win." 

The big difference in the game,  Wood said, was the four shots Kittitas made from beyond the arch that allowed the Coyotes to eventually take the lead and pull away for the win.

"We slowly faded away and wasn't scoring and we ran out of gas with a limited bench to play," he said. "We did play a really good first half, but let the game slip away by not playing four solid quarters. And when a team shoots poorly and commits 24 turnovers while giving up 15 offensive rebounds, the results are usually not in your favor.  But with a young team, you can expect games like this."

Lowell Kirkwood  led the way for the Lions with 16 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.

Austin Ray added 9 points, and Noah Roberts finished with  4 points and 6 rebounds.

MLCA is back on the hardwood Tuesday night  when the team travels to Soap Lake.