Red Lion coach Steve Schmehl was happy with his team's 59-48 victory over Dallastown, but he was far from thrilled -- particularly with his team's performance from the foul line over the final eight minutes.
The Lions shot a reasonable 15-for-26 from the line during the game, but went 10-for-19 in the fourth quarter. It was still good enough to win the game on Wednesday, but such a performance could sink Red Lion against stronger teams. Since this undersized Lions squad relies on a smothering half-court defense and keeping games relatively low scoring, late free throws are particularly important.
"Our foul shooting was terrible," Schmehl said. "That gave them more possesions because we were missing the front end of 1-and-1."
In a Division I game against South Western last year, guard Matt Bray (above) sank a free throw with no time left on the clock to give the Lions a victory and there is a decent chance the Lions will find themselves in a similar situation at some point this season.
If Red Lion is going to win games this year, which they have done a pretty good job of doing so far with a 5-0 start, they are going to have to grind it out most of the time. They don't have any real high-flying players that can use pure athleticism to out-run and out-jump the competition. They have dedicated and fundamentally-sound players that rely on disciplined and precise play and tough defense to pull out victories. I
Red Lion has strong shooters like Josh Lauver and Spencer McCreary and a gritty presence in the post with Todd Maciejewski. But if the free throw shooting isn't there, the Lions will almost certainly be in trouble. Schmehl knows that.
"If you're going to make your foul shots, you're going to want to do that at the end of the game," Schmehl said. "That has got to improve."
Not only does defense win championships, but so do the ever important free throws, especially in late game situations (just ask the Memphis Tigers).