Gary Landry
December 6, 2016
T’is the season: Plenty give back this Christmas season
December 7, 2016
Houma native and Cal State-Fullerton senior guard Lionheart “Fuddy” Leslie took a deep breath, then glanced up at the scoreboard on Saturday night against Pacific.
“Not good,” Leslie said on Sunday morning – 24 hours after the fact, his body still beat up and bruised from the night before. “We were getting killed, man. We were down 20. It was the second half. We had to move. We had to move right now.”
Leslie did, and what happened next just might be the biggest moment of the former Vandebilt Catholic star’s collegiate career – a half of basketball that Leslie hopes will jumpstart his team to prosperity with Big West Conference play right around the corner.
Down 61-41 with 12 minutes to go in the game, the Titans rallied back, slowly, steadily trimming the Tigers’ lead, thanks to timely offense and efficient defense.
Leslie was a culprit in both causes, scoring 17 of his game-high 21 points in the second half, which allowed the Titans to get the lead down to one with just 11 seconds to play.
Once there, Leslie attacked and finished the deal. He took the ball from half court and to the 3-point line. From there, he stutter-stepped, then weaved through the defense and into the paint with ease, powering up a shot through the body of Tigers guard K.J. Smith (son of NBA great and basketball analyst Kenny Smith), who had no choice but to foul the thick, physical guard with less than three seconds on the clock.
Leslie made both free throws, and then the Titans stiffened, stopping Pacific without even attempting a last-second shot to seal a 78-77 win – an improbable triumph for a team that had lost five-straight games.
But it wasn’t improbable for Leslie, who said he knew the conditions were right for special things to happen on Saturday night.
“In the last seconds, I just was thinking to myself, ‘No matter what, I have to find a way for us to put this ball inside of that rim for us to win this game,'” Leslie said. “Losing again wasn’t something that was going to happen. Coach gave us the play, and he told me to take it to them if I had an opening. I saw it, attacked, got the contact, and the rest is history. It was a great win, and now, we want it to be contagious. We want it to lead to others just like it.”
Leslie is doing for Fullerton exactly what he did for Houma basketball fans in high school.
He’s putting on a show.
In the first eight games of the season, Leslie, a 5-foot, 10-inch, 170-pound guard, has attacked opposing defenses at will, shooting 52 percent from the field – almost entirely because of his ability to attack and penetrate the lane to either score or draw a foul.
The quality of the competition doesn’t matter.
Leslie scored 15 points on Nov. 17 against Washington – a Pac 12 foe that has a couple players considered to be locks for the NBA Draft.
Two days later, he sizzled UNLV’s perimeter defenders, dropping 21 points on the Runnin’
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Rebels while also pulling down 10 rebounds and two assists for his team.
But on Saturday, Leslie was perhaps as good as we’ve ever seen him at this level, because the Tigers knew he was coming at them, and they didn’t have an answer for how to stop it.
He finished the game 8-of-12 from the field, scoring countless buckets in the lane during the team’s rally. Leslie also had five boards, two assists and a steal in an effort Titans coach Dedrique Taylor said was par for the course from his senior leader.
“He’s the true definition of his name,” Taylor told the Orange County Register on Saturday night. “He is a lion and his heart is as huge as anybody I’ve ever been around. He’s always willing to be in attack mode. … Tonight, he was a huge factor in us winning the game.” But Leslie isn’t satisfied. The Houma native said even with the stout play, he’s not satisfied with how his senior year is going because the Titans are not above .500, currently just 3-5 on the year.
Leslie said as a senior, it’s his job to get the team rolling again before conference play begins – a task he admits is easier with Saturday’s win in his hip pocket.
Leslie said the team’s ultimate goal is to win the Big West and reach the NCAA Tournament.
From there, Leslie said, everything else would be considered lagniappe.
After that, he hopes to continue his career professionally, just like his sister, Sumar, is doing today.
“We can’t stop,” Leslie said. “I won’t stop. We will keep battling every game. Win, lose or draw, you know, sometimes things happen. I can’t tell you we will win every game the rest of the season. But I can tell you that for someone to beat us, they’re going to have to give us their best shot.”
Just like Pacific did on Saturday.
But in that case, it didn’t matter. It still wasn’t enough.
Because on that night, Houma’s Lion just wouldn’t take no for an answer – especially not with the game on the line.
‘We can’t stop. I won’t stop. We will keep battling every game. Win, lose or draw, you know, sometimes things happen. I can’t tell you we will win every game the resto f the season. But I can tell you that for someone to beat us, they’re going to have to give us their best shot.
Lionheart Leslie, Houma native on his prospects for the remainder of the season
Houma guard Lionheart Leslie gets support from his teammates during Saturday’s game with Pacific. Leslie scored 21 points in the win – tying his season-high.
Houma native and Cal State Fullerton guard Lionheart Leslie makes a push toward the basket during a game this season. Leslie is one of the top guards in the Big West Conference.
