The Lions fought an uphill battle to tie Allegany, MD, before dropping an 86-85 overtime thriller.
You've heard the old joke, "I've got some good news, and I've got some bad news?" That set up applied to the Lions basketball season. First, the good news (part 1). The Lions swept the Arkansas JuCo state tournament in post season. They then swept Seminole, the Oklahoma champ, to secure on eighth trip to the NJCAA national tournament. Now the bad news (part 1). The Lions had to open national tournament play against the "home" team, Hutchinson, KS, who hadn't been in the tournament for ten years. The whole town was there. The Lions lost. Since it's a double elimination affair, the Lions still had a chance for a respectable finish. They lost in the second round in overtime. Wait, the bad news (part 2).
The Lions at one point in the season were mediocre (by Westark standards) 16-8 after having lost an unprecedented three games in a row. They were virtually eliminated from the conference crown Lion patrons expect (nine titles the past ten years), Hold on, the good news (part 2). To use a cliche, the Lions roared to nine victories in their last ten games and did play for the conference crown. Unfortunately, their only loss during that streak was the conference crown clash. Rollercoaster season, maybe. Inconsistent season, perhaps. Another trip to the national tournament, you bet!! The Lions ended regular season 209. They entered the national tourney at 25-9. They came home 25-11.
The crowd was sparse during Westark's second round afternoon national tournament game against Allegany. Quite a contrast from the capacity crowd they played before when they met the host team, Hutchinson, KS, in the opening round.
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