Parkway West, Toomey Unable to Slow Down U-City

Fans watching the basketball contest between the University City Lions and the on Sunday night at the Meramec Holiday Festival Tournament saw a game that started the way it ended-with University City leading big.

But, in between, there was a tight match as the Longhorns fought back from a big deficit before conceding a 74-60 loss to the Lions.

Senior forward Larry Toomey, who ended the evening with a game-high 25 points, acknowledged the Longhorns' inability to handle the pressure defense of the Lions.

"We fought back and got back in the game, but we not adjust to their pressure like we needed to," said Toomey.

The game was a first-round encounter and sent the Longhorns into the consolation bracket to face St. Charles West on Monday. The Longhorns had little problem with such a quick turnaround as they beat St. Charles West, 45-34, on Monday afternoon to advance toward a potential consolation championship game.

An upbeat tempo was established early by the Lions as they built a 12-2 lead on a series of 3-pointers, with two coming from senior Brandon Wagner and one from senior Prince Cody. Struggling to get good looks at the basket and needing to regroup, the Longhorns called a timeout minutes into the first quarter.

University City's full-court press kept Parkway West from organizing offensively, but Toomey was able to penetrate for a basket to make it 14-6. The Lions responded with a layup by junior Trevon Williams, who led all scorers with 30 points on the night. The quarter ended with University City ahead 20-8.

The second quarter began with the Longhorns urgently needing to establish their offense and Toomey delivered with a short-range jumper. Sophomore Cash McCurdy followed with a layup as Parkway West cut the Lions lead to 20-12.

The run was on for the Longhorns as Toomey delivered a big defensive rebound and passed to senior Michael Fuller who nailed a 3-pointer. The Lions were on their heels struggling to get back on defense and Parkway West tied the game at 20 before Cody struck from 3-point territory to end the Longhorns' run and put University City back on top.

The first half ended with the Lions leading 30-25.

In contrast to the Lions' loose and relaxed demeanor coming out of the locker room, the Longhorns appeared focused and determined entering the second half as they began to spread out against the Lions' press. The strategy worked and Parkway West began getting better looks at the basket. At the midpoint of the third quarter, Toomey struck for a field goal to put the Longhorns up 32-31.

But just as soon as Parkway West went ahead, they fell behind again as Williams took over the game for the Lions by making a pair of layups and a 3-pointer. Toomey and the Longhorns continued to fight back but the quarter ended with the Lions leading, 44-37.

As the final quarter unfolded, the game was there for University City's taking and despite a Toomey jumper in the first minute, the Lions built their lead to 52-40 on another 3-pointer by Williams.

Parkway West's game became one-dimensional around Toomey as the contest came to an end. Williams punctuated the win with a pair of impressive slam dunks in the final two minutes.

University City improved to 7-2 on the season, while Parkway West fell to 3-4.

Following the game, Lions coach David Gammon heaped praise on his team.

"I'm really proud of my guys, not just for the win tonight but for all the work they've put in to turn our program around; we've worked hard to get where we are," said Gammon.

Williams reciprocated his coach's comments, adding "Coach has pushed us hard and after two years of losing we're on the right track now. It's very satisfying."