Lions run for gold

On Thursday, the Mintz Lions traveled to Laurinburg for a chance to advance, closing in on the conference trophy. Grace Academy kept it close in the first half, but stumbled horribly in the second as the Lions established their supremacy. Mintz advances to the next round, 74-31.

The first quarter saw the teams battle it out valiantly, a far cry from what was to come. Mintz stood firm and pushed back, with dreams of bringing their first trophy home. By the end of the first, the Lions led by four, 17-13. Entering the second, the competition was much the same but Mintz flexed their shooting skills and started pulling away. Going into the halftime, the Grace Lions were trailing by double digits, 39-28.

During the break, Mintz Coach Tommy Honeycutt, pushed his boys to kick it up a notch and give them all you got, as they were looking ahead with their eyes on the prize. The Lions took this challenge to heart and unloaded a barrage of offense and stalwart coverage that rendered the opposing Lions helpless. The second half was a complete dismantling and blowout for Grace as they popped off 35 points to their three, sealing their fate.

Mintz took the victory with ease at 74-31. They will have faced Cornerstone Christian on Friday night for the semi-finals as the Lions look poised for a trip to the championship game.

Leading the Lions in scoring was Brayden Autry who sank 23 with Henry Bass coming in second with 15.