AJ Sports

Colin Gibson and Don McGlynn Abington Journal Correspondent

The Lackawanna Trail Lions boys basketball team got off to a rocky start this season, but brought it together of late. They are currently riding high, winning four of their last five games and earning themselves a spot in the district playoffs.

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Above, Chris Loman powers to the basket, in Trail’s game against Valley View.

Abington Journal Photo/ Alice Stuffle

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It took the whole team to get to this point, but much of the credit belongs to Chris Loman, the only returning senior starter and captain of the team.

“Chris was the only returning starter this year, and we were really looking to him to be a leader and he did a good job impressing upon the younger players what it takes to win,” said Trail’s Head Coach Andrew Kettel.

“It was tough early on; we have some young, inexperienced players on the team, but they’ve shown improvement every week,” said Loman. “As the season progressed, the team started to work harder and we were able to win some games that people didn’t think we could win.”

“I’m really excited, we’re a very young team and, as of late, we’ve really started to click and we’re gaining confidence, and playing the best basketball at the right time of year,” said Kettel. “If we continue to play, we could be a tough team to beat.”

Loman, who averaged 14.4 points per game this season, spent a lot of time this year showing this young team what it takes to compete at the high school level.

“He’s a really hard worker, he’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever had the pleasure of coaching, and it’s really rubbing off on the rest of the team.”

Hopefully Loman has rubbed off enough that they could win without him. Loman tore his ACL during the Lions 59-48 loss to Mountain View High School this past Thursday night, Feb. 12.

“It’s a huge loss for us,” said Kettel. “Not only is he a leader on the court, he’s one of the top players in our league. He’s been averaging 14 or 15 points for us a game, so that means we have find a way to get those 14 or 15 points. We’re definitely going to miss him.”

With Loman out of the lineup, the Lions will be looking more to juniors Bobby Pacholec and Jake Bedford to step up if Trail is to have a chance at advancing in the playoffs. But Loman is confident that his teammates are up to the challenge.

“I think if we play as a team the way we’ve been doing, we’ll be alright,” said Loman.

The Lackawanna Trail Lions will take on Mountain View High School in the first round of the District 2 Class AA playoffs, at Mountain View on Friday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m.

Loman is a Dalton resident and the son of Rick and Kathy Loman. He plans on attending Marywood University in the fall.