Lions are dealt their first loss

A 15-point loss on the road against Westminster on Tuesday night gave Augusta Christian's boys basketball team its first loss of the season.

For a team that entered the game with a 4-0 record, the loss to a cross-town rival hurt.

"We didn't box out well, and we aren't disciplined enough on the offensive end yet," Augusta Christian boys basketball coach Marty Griffin said. "But it's early, and it's a long season.

Tuesday's game was a reminder of just how early in the season it is for the Lions. After the school's football team made another successful and deep run into the state playoffs, the basketball team got a late start in preparing for the 2006-07 season.

How late? Augusta Christian, despite postponing its first regular-season game, has already played five games this year. The team's practice time, however, is almost laughable.

"We've only been practicing together for a week because of football," junior Fred Auston said after Tuesday's game. "We're still putting in some new plays on offense and defense."

In addition to the lack of practice, the Lions are playing with a lack of experience. Augusta Christian is starting four juniors and only one senior. Four of those starters are football players.

"I think our inexperience showed when they made their run in the second quarter," Griffin said after his team lost an 11-10 first-quarter lead thanks to Westminster's 26-7 run in the second quarter. "Give them credit, because they had a great defense."

Augusta Christian's defense limited Westminster's leading scorer, senior Max Pink, to 10 points. Auston said stopping Pink was part of the game plan, but the rest of the plan didn't work out.

"We said we had to keep him out of the game, but we didn't execute on offense," Auston said. "We played hard, but I think we just got tired in the second quarter."

The Lions shot just 23 percent from the field in the second quarter. The shooting barely improved in the second half, and Augusta Christian finished the night hitting 18 of 53 (34 percent) from the field.

Despite the loss, Griffin said a 4-1 record is still a good sign considering the limited practice time and early point in the season.

"We're still in good shape. We're not panicking right now," he said. "We had some leadership shown in the locker room after the game too."

Augusta Christian's girls basketball team also lost Tuesday night to Westminster, 50-39.

Lady Lion senior Casey Brush scored 19 points, but it wasn't enough to counter Westminster's Lauren Snyder who tallied 26 points to improve the Lady Wildcats' record to 6-1 this year.