basketball Waldman at the line against TburgWaldman at the line against Trumansburg

The Lansing Bobcat boys varsity basketball closed out the regular season with two road games, losing to the Union Springs Wolves Tuesday, February 6th and winning against the Trumansburg Blue Raiders on Friday February 9th.

In the Tuesday game in Union Springs, Luke Winslow controlled the tip off, and Langston Hopkins opened the Lansing scoring with a jump shot. The Wolves were able to answer off an offensive rebound, and applied strong defensive pressure with a press and 2-3 zone, keeping the Lansing scorers uncomfortable all night. A 9-0 U.S. run would bring a Lansing time out with 3 minutes expired in the first quarter. A subsequent Winslow 3 pointer would allow the Bobcats to gain some ground, now down 9-5.

A Joe Miller-LaBar drive and free throw after being fouled would get them to within 1, but the quarter would end with a U.S. lead, 13-10. Hopkins picked up the first points of the 2nd quarter after some nice post passing, and a Griffin Nelson 3 pointer would give Lansing the lead shortly after. The two teams traded buckets for the rest of the quarter, and the Wolves would end the half in the lead, 25-22.

The Wolves increased their advantage by nailing a 3 to start the 3rd quarter. Nelson would pick up the first Lansing points of the half, but the U.S. shooters had a hard time missing, building a 10 point lead after 3 minutes. With 4 minutes to go, the Wolves held a 12 point advantage, but strong free throw shooting and a Garret Bell layup would close the 3rd with the Bobcats down 40-32.

The Bobcats started the final frame with some increased defensive intensity. There were several glimmers of hope in the quarter; a cutting Miller-LaBar hitting off a nice Winslow pass, Winslow getting fouled while hitting a 3 and Nelson grabbing the rebound on the subsequent free throw, and Hopkins scoring a nice drive to the hoop. A couple of 3 pointers by Miller-LaBar and Bell would bring the Bobcats to within 4 points, but the Union Springs strength on both ends of the court would eventually give them the win, with a final score of 60-50.

Winslow led the Lansing scoring with 17, and Miller-LaBar chipped in 10 of his own.

The Lansing Bobcat JV squad lost their game as well, by a score of 41-24.

In Friday night's game, the Bobcats traveled to Trumansburg to face the Blue Raiders. Miller-LaBar opened the scoring with two from the charity stripe and Winslow would sink a 3 to build a quick lead. A few misses and turnovers would let the T'burg team stay close, however. Luckily. the Bobcat defense was creating some difficulty for the Raiders, with Miller-LaBar and Ethan Burt both scoring layups after stealing the ball. The first frame would end with a narrow Lansing lead, 16-14. T'burg would open the scoring in the 2nd, but the Raiders coach would call a timeout after Miller-LaBar took the ball end-to-end to give the Bobcats a 22-16 lead. Two quick Lansing turnovers would let T'burg right back into it though, and Lansing would call their own timeout with the score tied at 22. The first half would wrap up with the Bobcats back in the lead, 30-25.

The Raiders were able to put up the first points of the 3rd, but Bell would provide the first Lansing score, as the Bobcats started to increase the point spread. Lansing's defensive pressure, and a couple "and 1"s by Winslow and Bell would build a 10 point lead at 5:30. That frame would end with the Bobcats in control, 46-33. The 4th would see the Lansing-T'burg rivalry warm up a bit, with a couple of heated debates amongst the players, a spectator visiting the court to offer some words of encouragement, and a couple T'burg players calling it a night earlier than originally planned. The game would end with a Lansing victory, 65-41.

The Bobcat scoring was balanced, with Winslow and Bell each hitting 13, Burt adding 12, and Miller-LaBar putting in 10.

The JV Bobcats came up short in their game.

basketball senior nightThe Bobcats on Senior Night

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