CARTERVILLE – The Lions hosted the Nashville Hornets in a tough conference matchup Tuesday night, coming away with a massive 42-33 win. 

Going up against the current 2A State Champions is no small feat, but the Lions did not let this previous achievement intimidate them. 

The Lions came out slow in the first, trailing 5-0 seconds after this tipoff, but luckily, seniors Kade Lustenberger and Peyton Bittle hit back-to-back shots to bring to score to 5-4. The Lions trailed 7-4 after the first. 

Carterville picked up its game on both sides of the ball in the second, a quarter that proved to be the difference maker for the Lions in the end. Carterville ended up scoring 18 points compared to Nashville’s 7. With big contributions from multiple seniors, the Lions captured the hard-fought lead of 20-14 at the half, following three-point shots from both Lustenberger and Bittle.

Nashville mounted a comeback in the 3rd, causing the Lions to have to pick up their game defensively. The Hornets hit a few crucial shots that gave them the momentum and forced Head Coach Shane Hawkins to take a time-out. Even with a great pursuit from Nashville, the Lions still led 30-26 after the third.

With the momentum favoring Nashville, the Lions knew they had to push through and drive the game home considering a share of the Conference Title was on the line.

The fourth quarter was the tell-tale story of the game. Both teams were on fire defensively, each only allowing the opposing team to score 7 and 8 respectively. Senior Caden Hawkins managed to break through the tough Nashville line of defense and sink a heavily contested layup that pushed Carterville’s lead to 6 with 3:20 minutes left in the fourth.

The Lions ended up taking the match with a score of 42-33.

Leading scorer of the night, Lustenberger, said that this win was crucial for this team, especially coming off of an underwhelming performance at the Superman Classic the previous weekend. 

“We showed people that when we want to be really good, we can be. We beat a good Nashville team and there is still a lot of room for improvement.”

This win brings the Lions to 17-5 overall and 6-0 in their conference.

The Lions look forward to their next conference match against Anna-Jonesboro on January 27, 2023.

If you wish to keep up with Lion Basketball and the rest of Carterville Athletics follow us on Twitter and Instagram @CartervilleATH.