11/13/09

Carroll Hands Lions Season-Opening Loss

Lewiston, Idaho - Men’s Basketball played its season-opener this evening in Lewiston, Idaho, at the Lewis-Clark State College Tournament. Battling Carroll College of Montana until the bitter end, the Lions lost 69-63 to begin the season 0-1.

It was a seesaw struggle from the start for the Lions. Despite 10 first-half turnovers, the Lions found themselves tied for the sixth time less than 30 seconds before the end of the first half as senior point guard Greg Scott sank a pair of free throws to tie the game and send the Lions ahead 34-33 with :25 remaining on the clock. However, CC’s Sam Cartmell drilled a three-pointer at the buzzer to give Carroll a 36-34 edge heading into the halftime intermission.

Once again, as in the first half, Vanguard out-shot its opponents, but the turnover column was detrimental to the Lions who turned the ball over 10 more times in the second half. Carroll stretched its five-point lead to eight (66-58), the biggest separation of the game, with 4:38 to play. However, VU’s Elvis Whitelow nailed a three-point basket to cut the lead to five points but that was as close as the Lions would get as Carroll finished with the 69-63 victory.

Whitelow and Alex Chapman led the Lions with 15 points apiece while Scott and Billy Azizi added 10 points each. Azizi also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds, followed by Chapman with seven boards and Scott with six.

The Lions continue play tomorrow night when they take on tournament host Lewis-Clark State College.

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