Box Score (PDF)

HANNIBAL, Mo. – The Lyon College men's basketball team held off a hard-charging comeback effort from Hannibal-LaGrange to come away with a 64-60 win on Saturday afternoon in the American Midwest Conference opener for the Scots. The Scots improved to 2-1 (1-0 AMC) with the victory, while HLG dropped to 0-5 (0-2 AMC).

The Scots got off to a strong start against the Trojans on Saturday as Emir Sabic opened up the game with a bucket to give Lyon its first lead of the game. HLG managed to tie the game at 2-2 and again at 12-12, but the Scots never trailed within that span. After a free throw by Sabic and a layup by Blake Bradshaw, the Scots found themselves ahead once again, this time by a score of 15-12 with 10:44 left in the first half.

For the next seven minutes, Sabic and the Scots began to take full control of the game. Sabic accounted for the next eight points for the Scots with a pair of threes and a pair of free throws before Eric Moses got into the action with a pair of free throws. The Scots extended their lead to 30-14 with 3:19 left in the half after another basket by Bradshaw and a three-pointer by Antansas Krimelis. HLG ended the big run by the Scots with a three-pointer by Landon Hall, but the bucket was quickly answered by Sabic to push the lead back to 16. Tyrone Hueitt Jr. score the final four points of the half with four consecutive free throws, but the Scots held a 33-21 lead at the break.

The Scots picked up right where they left off to begin the second half as Lyon opened up with a 7-2 run to take their biggest lead of the game at 40-23 at the 16:45 mark. HLG, with the help of their top two scores in Brady Smith and Hueitt Jr., began to pull back into the game midway through the second half. The duo combined for 12 of the next 20 points for the Trojans as HLG cut the deficit to two points at 45-43 following a pair of free throws by Smith with 8:56 left in the game.

A pair of free throws by Ray Price ended the HLG run momentarily, but four straight points by Smith knotted the score at 47-47. The two teams kept the game close down the stretch as neither side led by more than three points over the next four minutes. The Scots had two big plays over their next couple of possessions as a layup by Moses with 1:10 left to play gave Lyon a 58-55 lead. The second big play down the stretch came on a missed layup by the Scots but Faris Verlasevic ended up being the right man in the right spot at the time as pulled down the offensive board and scored on the put back to push the Scots' lead to 60-55 with 34-seconds remaining. HLG would go on to trim the deficit back to two, but a pair of free throws by Sabic sealed the win for the Scots.  

Sabic led all scorers as he finished with a game-high 26 points. Verlasevic chipped in 15 points, while Moses once again flirted with a double-double as he finished with 11 points and nine rebounds. Smith led the Trojans with 19 points, including shooting 11-of-11 from the charity stripe.

The Scots will travel to the Lone Star State for a pair of non-conference games next week. The Scots will face Huston-Tillotson on Tuesday and St. Thomas-Houston on Wednesday.

Men's Basketball Contact: Matt Jagodzinski
870-307-7516 | matthew.jagodzinski@lyon.edu
Lyon Athletics: Twitter | Facebook
Lyon Men's Basketball: Twitter