Lions Put On A Show, Dominate Wentzville Holt In Hoops Win At St. Charles Family Arena

ST. CHARLES – With a reputation as one of the most high-flying and exciting boys basketball teams in the area this season, the University City Lions took the floor Saturday afternoon at the St. Charles Family Arena, against Wentzville Holt High, in one of the marquee matchups of the 2011 GAC/Suburban South-West Shootout.

And U. City made sure not to disappoint, as the Lions delivered a sensational, high-energy performance, that earned the black and gold a thrilling 60-54 win over the Indians – a club that won the GAC South conference championship last year.

“It’s just a matter of better execution and practicing harder,” U. City head coach David Gammon said. “We still missed a lot of opportunities, and I still don’t think we’re playing as confident as I think we’re going to.”

Still, the Lions looked pretty good on Saturday, as senior swingman Travon Williams led the way with 23 points against Holt, including a stretch at the end of the first half, when he outscored the Indians 7-2 by himself, to help U. City build a 30-15 halftime lead.

Teammate Avion Ashford also had a big day for U. City, with 16 points and eight rebounds

“I think even Avion is surprised with how well he’s playing right now,” Gammon said. “Now we’ve got to get him past being surprised and to where he expects to play big every night.”

Holt put together a 10-0 run midway through the third quarter, to pull to within 34-28, but Williams reeled off two quick baskets and a three-point play, and teammate Alex Henry added a three-point play of his own to push U. City’s lead back to 15 points at the end of the third quarter.

In the fourth, three straight buckets by underrated guard Jeffrey McGhee helped U. City push its lead to as many as 21 points, before Gammon pulled his starters for the final four minutes of the game.

Holt hit a couple of three’s in the final minute, and made a run against the U. City backups to make the score look a bit more competitive than the game really was.

“I thought we played pretty well defensively,” Holt head coach Johnnie Williams said. “We can defend, and we held this really good team to 60 points. But we just can’t turn the ball over like we did. We can’t have 20 turnovers and beat a team that runs around and scores like U. City can.”

“I couldn’t be more pleased with this first third of the season,” Gammon said. “But now that it’s over, I told the guys, no more ‘Mr. Nice Guy’. We’ve got a whole week of practice, and I told the guys, ‘I’m going to get ‘em.’ We’re going to practice hard this week.”

One reason Gammon wants to push the 6-2 Lions so hard in practice this week, is because they have to get ready for the prestigious Meramec Holiday Tournament, which begins at Meramec Community College the day after Christmas.

This year’s Meramec Tourney field is completed loaded with seven ranked teams, including undefeateds Webster Groves, Vianney, and No. 1-ranked McCluer, which are all potential opponents for U. City, as long as the Lions keep winning.

U. City will begin play at Meramec, on Tuesday, December 27, with a 5:30 p.m. game against No. 6-ranked Marquette, which is led by 6’8 University of Missouri recruit Ryan Rosburg.

“Meramec’s going to really test us,” Gammon said. “We start with No. 6 Marquette, and if we win, we’ll get No. 3 Webster, No. 2 Vianney, and then possibly No. 1 McCluer. So it’s not gonna be easy it all.”