W [56-53] @ Watkinson

After a long Christmas Break the A Team headed to Watkinson eager for their first game of the new year. Watkinson if often a competetive matchup for Masters and this gave proved to be no exception. 

The coaches message to the team before the break was "guard, guard, guard." The Lions needed to gain the quick upper hand by defending with intensity and not allowing Watkinson to get the shots they wanted. The starting five did well to accomplish this, as evidenced by their foul total in the first quarter. Early free throws from the home team kept the game tight: the score was 12-9 after the first four minutes. But then Masters' offense really picked up steam as the team finished the first quarter on a 6-0 run to double up their opponents 18-9. Player of the Game Nathaniel Duval played the entire first quarter at center and did all of the little things well to keep Masters' offense flowing: boxing out, rebounding, tipping the ball out, and finishing several tough reverse layups. Wings Evan Ellrod and Isaac Earnest did a wonderful job cutting into the middle of Watkinson's zone and passing out to shooters: the pair tallied 5 assists this way during the first quarter.

The Lions were able to keep their offensive intensity alive as they entered the second quarter, carried in large part by sixth man Cam Peters (16 PTS). Cam tallied 10 points in the second quarter alone, and helped Masters to open up a 32-15 lead. Unfortunately this didn't last as Watkinson's offense found their footing towards the end of the first half, closing it out on a 10-2 run which was broken only by two free throws from 7th grade guard Carmelo Walker (18 PTS). 

At halftime the score stood 34-23 in favor of the visiting Lions, the closest the score had been since the early minutes of the game. This close half time score may have actually been a blessing in disguise, as it provided motivation to the group to get out in the second half and go after Watkinson again.

The second half was a much more competetive. After a quick three from Melo, Watkinson went on a 12-0 run to cut the lead to two and force a time out from the Lions. The team wasn't working hard enough to find good shots and were allowing Watkinson to force them into long jumpers which led to fast breaks for the home team. After the timeout the team did better to rebound and move the ball, widening their lead slightly but still struggling to creat good offense out of their sets. 

Masters entered the fourth quarter with a five point lead and managed to hold on to win on the back of purposeful passing on offense and forceful guarding on defense. Melo sealed the deal with a dagger 3 in the final minutes to finish with a game-high 18 points. 

It's always good to come out victorious in a close game and to get a win under you after a long break. This was a gritty win for the Lions, doing what they needed to do to keep the lead. Masters will look to build on this win as they host Wilbraham & Monson next Wednesday. Good game, boys! Go Lions!