Lyons Basketball Finishes Perfect Conference Run with Another Amazing Comeback

They did it again.

Down by seven with 1:21 remaining in regulation and a perfect conference record on the line, Lyons boys basketball went to work as it has in the previous three games.

A defensive flurry, key shots, a game-tying three by senior Nick Zeisloft and the clinching free throw with 1.8 seconds left by senior Mark Sewall, all led to a stunner as the Lions, (23-2, 12-0 conference) eked out a victory, 62-61 over Proviso West (14-9, 6-4 conference).

"In all four of the last four games, we've played well when we needed to," said Lyons head coach Tom Sloan.

They needed it tonight.

Proviso West employed a unique starting line up, using all seniors for the first quarter in honor of their Senior Night. They dug themselves a hole quick and fell behind 17-9.

The second quarter was a different story as the team returned their normal starters and began chipping away at LT's lead, eventually leading at one point before falling behind 28-27.

LT struggled in the third, but managed to hang around trailing by a 46-44 score.

The Lions came out sluggish in the fourth and allowed Proviso to slowly build a double digit lead with 5 minutes remaining. LT began to employ the full court press with mixed results.

Late in the game it paid big dividends as Spencer Mahoney began to force turnovers that turned into buckets. The entire team got defensive late in the game as it trailed by 7 points with little over a minute remaining.

Nick Zeisloft tied the game up 20 seconds after LT found itself in it's 7 pt. hole. A defensive late followed by Mark Sewall ending up with the ball put the game within LT's reach. 

"I don't think there was a sense of panic, there was a sense of urgency," said Sloan. "Of the five guys we had out there [at the end of the game}, all of them made a big play."

He was fouled on the layup attempt and was shooting for the game with a 61-61 score and 1.8 seconds left. Sewall made the first, but missed the second and Spencer Mahoney tied up the ball underneath the basket as time expired, giving LT the win and a perfect conference record.

"It's a pretty big deal. As far as I know, the last LT team to do it [go undefeated in conference] was either 1994 or 1995. It doesn't happen very often and it's not easy to do. Everybody had a target on our back," said Sloan. "The guys in the locker room refuse to lose, they refuse to give in."

Eric Powers lead LT with 20 points and Nick Zeisloft had 18 for Lyons. Ryan Woods lead the Panthers with 18 and Nick Dixon pitched in 13.