Tiger Basketball in three team race

The boys district basketball race appears to be a good three-team race for sure with LBJ and Northeast. It did not take long in the schedule for the Tigers to have to take on state-ranked LBJ. LBJ took the early advantage with a 60-41 win. Lockhart fell 59-43 and McCallum would not do any better as the Tigers scored a 59-46 win. Northeast would come to DS and for the third game in a row 59 would be the winning number in a stunning finish for a 59-56 win to break the tie for second place.

Sports have a way of forming so many mysteries. How a team can look so good for a while, then slip in their performance? We see it in most sports of all levels. LBJ was certainly one of those. The first quarter was really a good one with the Tigers holding a 21-17 lead after one. That, as it turned out, would be half of their total on the night. DS simply could not get a basket to fall in the second and third quarters, producing only five in each. It was 34-26 at the half. Always a contributing factor along with accuracy is the turnovers. DS did not handle the fast pace very well and the turnover deficit was 22-7. LBJ led in steals as well 15-5. The major difference in the score was from the line as LBJ held a 19-5 advantage.

Lockhart was next. A predicted bad weather situation forced the game to be rescheduled to Saturday morning at DS. The Tigers came out unconscious raining threes (5) as they had a 17-2 run to start the game. Lockhart would hang in and battle back for a more respectable 23-10 after one. It is always great to see a team completely outmanned to fight hard and not give in for the rest of the game. The coach battled hard for his team as well, never resigning to the obvious defeat. It was 35-23 after two and 50-35 after three.

Once again the Tigers got off to a good start in the McCallum game. It is said the first five minutes of each half are important in setting the pace in any sport. The Tigers have been pretty good about accomplishing this. DS had a consistent night as they led 20-13 after one and 31-21 at the half. It was 41-30 after three.

Northeast proved to be a very exciting opponent with neither team getting to pull away during the game. There would be seven ties and seven lead changes. NE opened the scoring and it would not be until 3.48 in the second quarter the Tigers would gain a 26-23 lead. They trailed 14-18 after one and held a 34-31 advantage at the half. Jayden Guevara's hot hand from the three-range was the major factor. It was 46-41 after three. The Tigers carved out their biggest lead (52-43) early in the fourth. NE chipped away and finally tied the game at 56 with 45 seconds remaining. Seven turnovers did not help.

This set up the improbable ending. DS ran the clock down to eight seconds and called timeout. They worked for a shot, missed and it was rebounded with 3.8 seconds for NE. Their in-bounds play was botched on a long pass beyond half court. The ball was retrieved and heaved to Aiden Bailey who set his feet and launched the ball. It was in the air as the buzzer went off and the ball was dead center of the net for the sudden victory. Of course, he was mobbed on the court.

Vs LBJ: Guevara 15, Xavier Phillips 8, Trace Young 5, Bailey 5, Eli Tod 3, Jackson Friedman 2, Charles Hunt 2, Luke Lawyer 1.

Vs Lockhart: Bailey 27, Guevara 19, Lawyer 6, Phillips 3, Kasen Embrey 2, Hunt 2.

Vs McCallum: Guevara 19, Phillips 9, Bailey 8, Lawyer 8, Tony Parra 7, Felix Gonzales 3, Friedman 2, Tod 2, Hunt 1.

Vs NE: Guevara 16, Phillips 12, Young 11, Bailey 9, Lawyer 7, Embrey 2, Friedman 2.