As a tune-up for their nationally televised game on ESPN next Thursday night (12/16) at Texas Southern University vs. Findlay Prep (Henderson, NV), the Yates Lions took on the Madison Marlins at Delmar Fieldhouse on Saturday night (12/11) and had to sweat it out before pulling away from the Marlins in the fourth quarter, 101-86.
Going into the fourth quarter, some of the lively crowd might have been thinking upset, as the score was tied at 65. However, the Lions went on a roll and outscored Madison, 36-21, over the last eight minutes to close out the Marlins.
The win was the eighth straight this season for the 8-0 Lions, but more importantly it extended their winning streak over three seasons to 66 consecutive games.
The spirited Marlins’ record dropped to 7-4. Madison played excellently for three quarters, but as usually happens vs. Yates, by the time the fourth quarter rolls around, the opponent is warn down, exhausted, and starting to run out of gas.
Senior guard, Shai Fields, led the Lions with 35 points, including 14 in the final stanza. Junior forward, Damyeon Dotson, a transfer from Madison, continued his all-round fine play for Yates with 21 points and a dozen rebounds.
Madison went on a 17-6 run in the second quarter to take the lead and went into the locker room at the half leading by a score of 45-41. It’s been almost a year since we saw Yates trailing in a game at the half. That was during the Iolani Prep Classic last December in Hawaii.
The Lions opened the second half by scoring the first eight points to take a four-point lead. But Madison came back with the help of a dunking exhibition by Rodrick Smith and there were several ties and lead changes through the remainder of the quarter. The quarter ended as Marlin guard Jordan Kelly hit a baseline floater at the buzzer for the 65-65 tie.
Yates dominated the fourth quarter, led by Fields, Dotson, and senior guard Tre Bennett and it was all over for Madison. When Yates hit the century mark in the last minute, it was the seventh time in eight games this season that they accomplished the feat. Going back to last season, Yates has scored 100 or more points in 22 out of their last 24 games.
Clarence Shelvin had 27 and Smith had 24 for Madison.
The Lions are off until Thursday night’s big game vs. Findlay, which was the 2008-09 mythical national champ, which means that the game will feature the nation’s last two mythical champs.
Don’t miss it, whether you see it in person or on the tube either live or through recording technology.
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